Only You
by All Mighty Ruler
Summary: Used to be a one-shot. Now a story. Secrets are held in as Max and the flock search for answers about the Academy. Unexpected twists and turns may dwell in this story. R&R T-Just cause I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

"Maaaaaax! I'm hungry! And tired! Can we stop somewhere and like, sleep? Sleep is good. Can we go swimming? I love swimming! Swimming swimming swimming! That's a funn –"Guess who that was! If you guessed Nudge, you guessed right. Thankfully, the blind, pyromaniac, savior clamped his hand over Nudge's mouth before she could say anything else. Iggy does us all favors.

I sighed and looked up at the sky. The sun was setting revealing layers of shaded reds and purples. I turned back to look in the flock's general direction. "Yes Nudge. We can stop. It's getting dark out anyway." I yelled past the wind so she could hear me.

I got a couple of cheers of happiness from the younger kids as we flew on. I made sure to tell everyone to keep an eye out for some sort of hotel to stay the night at. It was only about five minutes before Angel and the Gasman were jumping up and down (as much as you could from mid-air) in excitement of finally finding a decent hotel to stay at. We flew down and landed behind some trees.

We walked inside to see a very formal lobby. Me, Fang, and Iggy went over to the check-in to get the rooms while Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel went over to the couches, trying not to fall asleep.

We stepped up to the counter. "How many rooms should we get?" I asked as I rang the small silver bell for assistance.

"Three. I guess." Fang replied. Man, would it kill him to speak in full sentences?

"Okay, I guess you two can share a room," I said motioning to both Fang and Iggy. "Then I guess I'll share with Nudge, and Angel and Gazzy can share."

Fang was about to agree when Iggy interrupted. "No, I'll share with Gazzy, Angel and Nudge will share, and that leaves the two lovebirds… No pun intended." He said, laughing to himself. I was about to argue when I saw him run over to the younger kids. I guess he told them his plan because they all cheered and whooped. I frowned and glared at all of them.

Just then, a boy that looked about our age with sandy-brown hair and bright green eyes came out of a door marked 'employees only' and sat in the chair in front of us.

"What can I help you with?" He asked in a rough voice.

"Can we get three rooms please? Preferably conjoining." I said, while handing him my famous Max-Ride card.

He started to type something into the computer and then took three key cards out of a drawer. He swiped them into some machine and handed them to me along with the Max-Ride card and a small piece of computer paper.

"Thank you." I said smiling at the kid.

"Your welcome. I'll be here if you need _anything_." He said, trying to make sure that the 'anything' part was understood. I think he meant it to be flirtatious, but it didn't come across that way.

Fang and I started to walk across the large lobby over to the rest of the flock. Once we got over to them, Nudge and Angel got up and stood in front of me. "Have fun!" Angel said as Nudge swiped one of the cards out of my hands.

I heard Iggy whisper 'Good luck' to Fang as he took another card from me and followed Gazzy's footsteps to the elevator. I glanced over at Fang, relieved to see almost as much disgust in his expression as there was in mine.

After that whole fiasco, we started to walk over to the elevators. I looked down at the key card, credit card, and the torn slip of paper that the kid had given me. I smirked as I read it.

'_Hey beautiful_

_Gimme a call sometime_

_943-634-7532'_

I felt Fang reading it over my shoulder and I saved him the trouble by showing it to him.

His jaw twitched. His knuckles tightened. His teeth clenched.

What's with that?

We eventually made it to the room that we'd be staying in. I looked around the hallway only to see that the rest of the flock was already in their rooms. I slipped the card key into the lock and waited for the light to glow green. When it did, I pushed open the door to reveal two queen-sized beds, a desk, a table with a flat-screen TV on it, and two doors that I assumed led to the bathroom and closet.

I immediately called first dibs on the bathroom.

I dumped my backpack on the bed closest to the wall and shot to the vacant bathroom. I turned on the water, as hot as it would go, and undressed. I slipped into the shower and let out a relaxed sigh as the steaming hot water dripped down my back and wings.

I was finally forced, by Fang, to get out of the bathroom. Apparently he wanted to take a shower too. I didn't blame him. Once I dressed and stepped out of the bathroom, I collapsed on one of the beds, not bothering to pull back the blankets. I drifted into a dreamless sleep, finally calm and relaxed. I was pulled out of my little heaven when I felt someone wake me up carefully.

I groaned and looked up at the irritating person that woke me up. Fang. "What do you want?"

"Sorry to wake you up but, I want to ask you a completely careless hypothetical question." I frowned and sat up. He said 'careless, hypothetical' but I knew he meant honest and real.

"Oh yeah? What is it?" I asked, more curious than I sounded.

He looked down at his clenched hands and spoke, "Hypothetically, if we weren't on the run, and you got the normal life you deserve, would you call that guy?"He said warily. I was completely and utterly shocked. Why would Fang ask me this? Why does he care? Wait, does he?

"No, I don't think I would," I said standing up to look him in the eye. "I would be waiting for someone else to call me." I saw a small flicker of hope in his eyes before it died down. His face fell slightly. He probably thought I meant Sam or something.

He sighed. Disappointed. He took a step back and leaned against the wall. "And who might that be?" He asked me intensely.

At that moment, I swallowed my pride. I ignored every felling I had except for one. Love. I took a deep breath, Stepped towards him, and did the unthinkable. I gave him a slight smile and grabbed his shirt by the collar. I whispered, "You. Only you." I rose up on my toes and I kissed him.

Our lips crashed together and it seemed that Fang was trying to figure out if what was happening was real or just a dream. His hands soon slid down my sides and rested on my lower back. I carefully wound my leg around the back of his. I pushed his back against the wall and slipped my hands into his hair.

I felt my legs being lifted up by Fang. He moved them to his waist and I clamped them around him. The sweet kiss grew more intense. Fang angled his head as I angled mine. Our lips fit together in perfect harmony.

I felt his tongue lightly trace my bottom lip asking for entrance. I smiled into his lips and opened my mouth slightly. I could feel him tracing every contour of my mouth. After that, we were fighting for dominance.

We slowly turned. My back was now against the wall. Legs still off the ground, I broke the kiss from lack of oxygen. Fang set me down, my feet lightly touching the ground. We were both panting lightly as we just stared into each other's eyes.

He smiled down at me and whispered, "Max, I love you. I love you so much." I just looked up at him in adoration.

I leaned up and whispered, "I love you too." He smiled, lighting up the whole room. His rare, unique smile twisted and pulled my heart in ten different directions.

We leaned in to kiss again when we head the door creak open. Clapping and laughter came from the hallway.

Crap.


	2. Author note

Hey,

Sorry for the lack of a new chapter, but I'm thinking of maybe adding a new one. I'm not sure though.

I never planned for this to be anything but a one-shot, but I got a couple reviews saying that they wanted me to continue.

The only problem is, I can't think of ANYTHING to write about. I'm having serious writers block, and if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear 'em. PM me or review.

-BDC


	3. Chapter 2

I looked up at Fang and let out a small groan. Thirty seconds ago, everything was perfect. The Flock was safe and in bed asleep, or I thought they were. Fang and I were, finally, together. Everything was okay, but now, we have a huge problem.

Outside the door, directly to my left, were sitting four genetically enhanced bird kids who have good hearing. _Very_ good hearing. They would be able to hear a pin drop from a mile away, but Iggy was a different story. He could hear a _feather_ drop from three miles away. I guess being blind does have some advantages. For him. Not for me. Not now at least.

I smacked my head against Fang's chest and I tried to convince myself that this wasn't happening. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and lightly kissed my cheek. I let out a forlorn sigh, showing I was ready for the worst. I shook my head and straightened up. Figuring I could distract them, I slowly walked over to the door. I pulled it open in one motion and four people fell forwards, tumbling over each other.

I looked down at them, placing my hands on my hips, and standing in front of the doorway. They looked up at me slowly, probably dreading what was coming next.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked, giving them a death glare. I saw Nudge tell Iggy what I was doing and he shuddered. Good. It's good to install fear before a punishment.

Everyone started babbling at once and is started to get a headache. That's what four nervous bird kids can do to you at one in the morning. I raised one hand to hold my head and I closed my eyes into my palm. I held up my finger and I ran it horizontally in a motion across my neck. They all stopped talking immediately. I reopened my eyes and looked down at them.

Fang came up behind me and said calmly, "One at a time." A little too calmly. "Who's going first?"

Gazzy was shoving Iggy, Iggy was holding Angel in front of him, Angel was motioning at Nudge, and Nudge was jamming her finger in the Gasman's face. I guess none of them wanted to explain.

I groaned and looked in between all of them. I looked up at Fang. He shrugged and gave me a look that said, 'hey, you're the leader'. I flicked him in the temple and I turned back to the kids. They were all yelling at each other, trying to get out of trouble.

I snapped my fingers twice and they all became deathly quiet. I then pointed at Nudge, telling her she was going to explain. She took a deep breath and I immediately regretted choosing her.

**(A/N: Brace yourself…)**

"We wanted to see you two. It finally happened! You are so cute together! It was awesome! Seeing you two together is the best! You guys-"Iggy nudged her in the rib and she groaned. She ended up stopping dead when she saw the looks that Angel, the Gasman, and Iggy were giving her. "I mean, I had a bad dream. Yeah. A bad dream, about evil killer clowns who want to take over the world but can't because there is no way of getting to Atlantic City to go to a shrimp festival because they lost their two foot tall Volvo. So they decided to uh… go to Russia instead and create the clan of shish-kabobs. Yeah. And I woke Angel up because uh… she was uh… reading my mind and saw my dream! And she got scared too! And uh… Iggy… was trying to find a banana so Gazzy would stop doing the chicken dance? He only wanted a banana, but I don't see why he wouldn't want, like, barbeque sauce or something because that is so much better on chicken than bananas, but I don't even like chicken! Not after those yucky hawks! So, I came here with Angel figuring you could help us go to sleep and Gazzy was running away from Iggy because he didn't want bananas anymore. He wanted an apricot but Iggy didn't have one and he got mad at Gazzy because he really wanted him to shut up so he could to go sleep but he kept doing the chicken dance because he wanted a apricot instead of a banana, but Iggy only had a banana. I wonder where he got it. I mean, they aren't really popular in random places in hotels are they? Anyway, then we ran into each other in front of your door and were about to knock when you opened it. Funny story, huh?"

I just stood there, jaw dropped, frozen in place. I looked around and saw Angel, the Gasman, and Iggy gaping at her. I looked to my side and saw that Fang was staring at her with wide eyes. His version of astonishment. This girl could really make up a story. "As much as I believe that," I said once I regained my composure, "You guys shouldn't be spying on us." I saw looks of confusion cross their faces. They thought I was going to bring on the punishment, and man was I. Tomorrow. "Go to sleep. I'll deal with you in the morning."

Angel and Nudge scrambled up and as soon as they were in the hallway, started giggling uncontrollably, about what happened, no doubt. I rolled my eyes and looked at Gazzy, who grabbed Iggy's hand and pretty much sprinted down to their room. I shook my head and slammed the door closed behind them.

"Well, _that_ was interesting." Fang said in a casual tone.

I snorted and looked up at him. "I don't interesting is the word to describe it." I said dryly. "More like weird, predictable, or problematic." I crossed my arms over my chest and rolled back on my heels.

"Yeah. That sounds about right." He said as he flicked hair out of his eyes, "We'll deal with them tomorrow."

"We? So you're going to help me?" I said with mock surprise, "That's astounding."

His brows furrowed and looked at me in fake sincerity. "Oh, did I say we? Sorry, I meant you. I'll be too busy sleeping."

"Yeah, you'll be busy sleeping because I'll make sure I get Gazzy and Iggy to make _special_ bombs." I said secretively. He looked at me, confusion in his deep brown eyes. He was probably wondering what I meant with the whole 'special' comment. When I figure out what it means, I'll let him know. I smiled to myself and pulled my damp hair across my shoulder.

I crossed the room and fell flat onto the bed closest to the wall. I scooted up to rest my head on one of the three pillows. I adjusted myself and spread out my wings slightly. Fang came over and sat on the bed next to me. I closed my eyes lightly as his arm gently wrapped around my shoulders. I felt his thumb trace circles in the area between my wings, something he knew relaxes me. I let out a content sigh and inched closer to him.

He rested his chin on my head and I slowly started to lose consciousness. I quickly opened my eyes and looked up at him. I saw a smile tug the corners of his lips and I smiled myself.

"Max?" He asked in barely a whisper.

I raised my head slightly took look at him. I gazed straight into his eyes and I got lost in the swirling brown. The golden flecks that seemed to light up. "Yeah, Fang?" I asked.

"I love you." He whispered and he kissed my head.

"I love you too." I said, with a straight face, although on the inside I was grinning blissfully.

I softly placed my head in the crook of his neck. I then drifted into a peaceful sleep, not a care in the world. Finally happy.


	4. Chapter 3

so, this is the next chapter.

hawk without wings – i used some of your ideas in this chapter.

only you -- chapter three.

I woke up the next morning, leaning on something hard, yet soft at the same time. I slowly opened my eyes to see Fang lying there, asleep with me in his arms. I smiled to myself and tried to untangle myself from his arms.

I tried ducking under them, attempted moving them, was unable to shrug them off, so eventually, I gave up. I laid back and closed my eyes again, drifting back to sleep. I reached up and squeezed his nose shut. After about three minutes of him turning various shades of blue, he finally woke up, breathing heavily.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?" He asked, finally regaining his normal skin color. I was surprised he was actually talking in somewhat full sentences.

"You wouldn't wake up." I said simply. "and it was kind of funny." I noted.

"Maybe for you." Back to sentence fragments. I heard him mumble something that sounded like "Could have killed me!"

I looked up at him and laughed. He untangled himself from me and sat up in the bed. I rested my head on his chest, feeling as if I would fall back asleep. I looked up at him as he leaned down. His soft lips rested on mine and I couldn't resist smiling. I thought that I heard the door open but the thought soon died.

All of the sudden, I felt a heavy blanket being thrown onto my face. My eyes shot open immediately and I jumped up. Fang at my side. I looked around the room, expecting to see Erasers or Flyboys swarming in, but all I saw, was Iggy.

There he stood, laughing hysterically with the Gasman making funny faces by his side.

"Max, I don't think the kids need to see this." Iggy said in between laughs. "Maybe you should get a room. Wait! You have one." He burst out into another fit of hysterical laughter.

"I think it's sweet!" Nudge called from the kitchen potion of out room. "I mean, they deserve each other and there is no reason that they shouldn't be together! So Iggy, shut up. They deserve some time together without you ruining it! I mean, the possibility-" Angel smacked her hand over Nudge's mouth. Hard. When did they get in here?

"Max, we just came in a minute ago." Angel said after reading my mind.

I sighed and looked over at the Flock. One by one. Then my gaze stopped on Iggy. "Oh. Okay and, thank you Nudge. Iggy you're right." I said. He had a look of mixed confusion and pride on his face. "I mean, they shouldn't see this, and by 'this' I mean me kicking your butt from here to next Tuesday." He looked at me and held up his arms in surrender. He took a step back and jumped right into the chair next to Gazzy.

I groaned and dragged myself off of the bed. I walked up to Nudge who was trying to find some sort of food in her pack. I took a chocolate chip granola bar out of mine and threw it at her head.

"Ow! Hey! That hurt! What is it? Ooh, granola. I love it. Especially peanut butter ones. What kind is this? Oh. Chocolate. That's good too. Chocolate is always good. I have never met someone who doesn't like chocolate though. I love chocolate, but I hate eating meat. So does that make me a vegetarian? I guess it do-"

"Nudge!" I yelled at her. "Will you be quiet? I just woke up!" She nodded, opened the wrapper, and began shoving the bar into her mouth.

"Wow. Cranky much?" Fang asked as he walked past me.

"Yeah." I said quietly as I sat on the ground next to Angel. "I guess that's what happens when four bird kids keep you up at one in the morning."

Nudge, Angel, Iggy, and the Gasman all looked away and started conversations about random things. Not one of them mentioning bananas, apricots, or the clan of shish-kabobs. Thank god. I looked at them and took a deep breath.

"Guys!" I said loudly and they all went quiet. "We need to talk about last night. Fang! Get over here."

I waited for Fang to cross the room. I glanced up at him and stood up, sliding my hand into his. I felt his hard, callused hand tighten around mine and I resisted the shiver that was creeping down my spine. His hand warmed mine and he gave me a slight nod before I went on.

"We, uh, we have something to, uh, tell you." I said nervously, even though I didn't know why. I looked down at out intertwined fingers and I continued, "Me and Fang are kind of, sorta you know- together now."

It took a minute for this to sink in, but when it did, an explosion of laughter and giggling came from Nudge, and Angel was grinning uncontrollably. Iggy was giving us a knowing expression. Yeah, like he knew anything about us. And then there was the Gasman. He looked like he was about ready to throw up. He hadn't gotten over the whole girls-have-cooties thing.

"Really?" Nudge practically screamed. "That is so cool!"

"I knew it would happen!" Angel said. "Eventually. I always told you guys that you loved each other, but did you listen? No. You didn't."

I rolled my eyes and Iggy spoke, "Great! All we need to add on the list. So, one six-year old mind reader, check. One motor mouth magnet girl, check. One blonde kid with a bad digestive system, check. One awesome blind chef, check. One oddly dark invisible dude, check. One girl with a voice in her head, check. One talking dog that also has wings, check. Two flying bird kids that are in love, check."

Everyone laughed at Iggy's descriptions of each other. Angel and Nudge started discussing things like nails and hair while the Gasman and Iggy were huddled by the couch, whispering about something that I suspected was bomb related. They were so happy.

I cracked a smile and took a fleeting look at Fang. His fists were clenched. He obviously knew something I didn't. I squeezed his hand and gave him a half smile. His gaze softened and his fists unclenched. Something in his eyes held me to my spot. I turned to face him and got lost in his deep brown eyes. They were suddenly so dark it was unbelievable. I could barely make out his pupil from his iris. The obscurity of his eyes made the flecks of gold stand out outstandingly. It was like looking through someone's eyes at the night sky. I reached up on my toes and I kissed him lightly on the lips, immediately blushing when Nudge's chattering ended and I felt everyone's eyes directly on me.

I turned to face them and I shrugged as I crossed the room and sat cross-legged on the large air conditioner next to the window. I looked out for anything that could possibly be a threat to us. An elderly woman walking her dog on the sidewalk, no. A mailman delivering mail to a small house, no. Deer prancing around the backyards out houses besides the hotel, again, no. nothing to be worried about.

I looked back at the Flock who were packing up all of their things. Gazzy was just finishing a breakfast bar, Iggy was eating an apple on the floor, while conversing with the Gasman. Angel was straightening out Celeste's small halo and Nudge was having a one-sided conversation with Angel. I sighed as I stood up and stretched out my overly stiff wings. I spread them out so they were at about a nine foot wingspan.

Abruptly, I felt a piercing pain invade my open wings. The crash of glass breaking and the sharp clanging of the broken shards striking the metal appliances rung through my ears. The pain in the back of my wings was unbearable. Out of the corners of my eyes, I saw the Flock jump onto their feet and assume fighting positions. I watched as the blood stained the few white feathers I had and I whipped my head around. There stood the only thing that could possibly make this the worst day of my life.

i finally got to write some action so i'm happy! i really don't like romance so it works.

review with your thoughts or complaints.


	5. Chapter 4

**so here is some more action. it's not as much as i hoped but it works.**

**disclaimer – i do not own maximum ride.**

Standing there, three paces behind me was the worst thing imaginable. The only thing that could possibly bring me down. The only thing that has surprised me in a long time. Although I could barely recognize him, he was familiar. Too familiar for my liking.

That thing standing there was Sam. A Sam that I didn't know. A Sam that barely looked like his old self. One with an evil glint in his gorgeous green eyes.

He looked exceedingly different. His short bronze hair had grown out. It was lightly resting past his built shoulders, and almost covered his eyes completely. He wore a smirk on his thin, dry lips. Razor sharp canines protruded from his blood-red gums.

He looked as though he had gone through massive training. Underneath his fitted t-shirt, I saw the jagged outlines of etched abs. His arms were burly. About twice the size of Fang's which is saying something. He has small patches of hair on his arms and jut out of the rips in his worn jeans. He looked like he had grown too. Instead of being the same height as me like he was when we met in Virginia, he was taller than Iggy by about two inches, probably making him about 6'5".

In between strands of his shaggy hair, his eyes were fixed upon me. I stared straight into his murderous eyes and felt a cold rush of adrenaline course through my veins.

"Max, Max, Max. Look at you." He said in a rough bark. "I would just love to take you away with me."

Take me away? Who does he think he is? Ari? He's not taking me anywhere. No one is taking me away from my Flock. Not now, not ever.

"But," he started again, "I was given direct orders to kill you. That's what I'll do. I I'm telling you now, I won't enjoy it." I turned around to get a better look at him. He was standing confidently in front of the window, bare feet covered with broken glass.

Behind him, what looked like an army of Erasers were hovering in the air outside the window. Each one of them, taking in their surroundings, looking for the best way to kill us.

They started inching closer to the window, waiting for the command, when I realized something. These creatures were not Erasers. Sure, they resembled them remarkably but they weren't the same. They were something more powerful.

They may have had the main appearance of Erasers, but in reality, they were much bigger, much stronger, and much uglier.

"You think you'll be able to kill me?" I snarled at him, giving him the death glare. "Good luck with that."

He looked taken aback, but then regained his composure. "Oh, is that right?" he questioned in a low, threatening manner. He stepped towards me so we were face to face.

"Yeah. It is, wolfy." I growled back, as I flicked a tuff of hair on his arm. I looked up at him through my messy hair.

He elevated his heavy arm and pulled his elbow back. A smirk crossed his face as I spread out my legs slightly and raised my fists, the Flock backing me up. He grabbed my shirt collar in his heavy fist and lifted me off the ground. I tried to struggle.

Erasers started swarming into the room and attacked before anyone could help. They immediately went for Angel, Nudge, and the Gasman, thinking that they could get rid of them easier. They knew Iggy and Fang could hold their own against at least fifteen enemies.

My attention was turned back to Sam when he punch me right across the jaw. The force of his hit caused me to spin in his hands. I felt a tooth loosen and tasted blood flow into my mouth. I spit the blood out right onto the front of his shirt.

He lifted me higher and I placed the balls of my feet flat on his hard stomach. I pushed against him and launched myself in the opposite direction. I landed nimbly on my feet and watched as Sam flung himself at me. I punched the Eraser standing next to me, then grabbed his clawed hand and flipped him over.

I looked around. Angel was just standing, simply in between the two beds talking to the Erasers. She had a concentrated look on her young face as she made one dark-haired Eraser hit a half-morphed one with the lamp on the bedside table. Gazzy was backing into the hallway, placing bombs on every hairy thing he passed. Nudge was standing, back to the wall, kicking one in the stomach and punching one in the nose at the same time.

Iggy was in the hallway, blowing everything he could find up. As soon as the Gasman stepped into the hallway, the partners in crime worked back-to-back. Fang was in the middle of the room, surrounded by Erasers. He gave one an uppercut, causing him to fall backwards out the window. He gave the one behind him a roundhouse kick in the jaw, then a flying side kick. It then all came down to Sam charging forwards at me.

The numbers were too many. We couldn't take them all on. I blocked Sam's kicks, and dodged his punches while throwing a few of my own. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Fang give me an exhausted look. I nodded my head backwards and yelled "Back now! Up and away on three!" Luckily, they knew to go on one.

The younger kids ducked and dodged around the Erasers they were fighting. Iggy did a quick spin in between the four he was taking on. Fang threw one last punch and hurled himself at the door.

I was the only one left. I landed a hard roundhouse kick into Sam's chest and as he staggered backwards, I ran.

"U and A! On three!" I yelled out again as I followed the Flock down the winding steps. We sprinted through the lobby and burst through the doors, Erasers on our tail. "One, two, three!" I yelled and five bird kids shot into the air.

I whipped out my wings and took off. I was only about three feet off of the ground when I felt a hard hand grab my ankle. I whipped my head around in surprise and saw Sam. Standing there, pulling me down with ease. I beat my wings harder, and harder, quickly draining my energy.

He jerked me down and I hit the ground, when something snapped. My head suddenly had an explosion of pain and I felt my neck twist. Unable to control my body, I attempted to get away from Sam. I tried to hold onto the ground as he dragged me back, but the dirt slipped out of my grasp.

I heard yelling. I glanced up through clouded eyes and saw that Nudge was screaming bloody murder while pointing at the Erasers surrounding me. I looked at her and then to her left. Fang was speeding down to the ground and tackled Sam. The second-in-command Eraser jumped on me as soon as Sam's hand left my ankle. He flipped me over and held his hand in a cupped position wrapped around my neck, cutting off my airflow. I felt the pressure of his hands increasing rapidly.

"Iggy!" I cried in a horse voice. "Take them! Run!" Something I have never said.

I looked up, relieved to see him listening. He grabbed Nudge and flew on with her, petrified, in his arms. I looked back at Fang, who was fighting a losing battle against Sam.

First, Sam threw an uppercut, a left hook, right hook, side kick. Each one hitting Fang with inhumane like power. Blood trickled down his lip as he kicked Sam in the chest. Sam lurched back and tried to catch his breath. He clutched his chest and Fang hit him with a roundhouse kick in the neck and Sam fell to the floor, kicking Fang in the back of the knee.

I gathered all my strength and with a quick burst, I flipped him over and straddled the Eraser holding me down. I pinned one hand over his head and I punched him repetitively across the jaw. His eyes opened wide and I saw realized something that made me wonder. He wasn't fighting back.

**was that worthy of a good story? again, please review with thoughts or complaints.**


	6. Chapter 5

disclaimer- i do not own maximum ride.

claimer- i do own the plot. whatever the plot may be…

I held my fist back, ready to strike again, when I noticed something. The Eraser, bruised and bloodied beneath my legs, was not fighting back. He was biting his thin lip and pinched his eyes shut, ready for more hits.

As I ceased in the attacks, he slowly reopened his eyes, looking up at me in fear. I saw confusion in his deformed wolf-like face as I climbed off of him. As I stood up, a fresh burst of pain seared through my head. I felt my neck hang low, as if there was nothing holding it up onto my shoulders. Unbearable pain erupted through my neck and back. I the warm blood flowing out of a large laceration on my hairline mix with the cold sweat on my forehead.

I looked down at the Eraser sitting below me and gave him a half-smile. He wasn't like the others. He didn't want to do this. He scrambled up from the ground and ran across the open lot. I was able to think through the massive headache and I remembered almost right away. Fang.

I overheard what they were grunting out in their fight.

"So, Fang. Want to die today?" Sam snarled at Fang as he threw a right hook.

"I don't think you're the one to be asking that." Fang answered quietly, calmly. He kicked Sam in the knee and watched as he buckled over.

I whirled around and shot over to where they were in combat. I went up behind Sam and, in between Fang's constant punches to his stomach and head, side kicked him square in the back. He whipped his head around to see me standing there, hands curled into fists, ready to fight. A slow gin spread across his disfigured face.

He backed up a few steps, in order to improve his view of Fang and I. One of us, alone, would have no chance of taking Sam down. Maybe, collectively, we both can. He had been enhanced way beyond our years. He was stronger than the whole Flock combined and could take each one of us out, one by one.

"Maxie, do you really want to hurt me?" He asked in a low, inquisitive growl. "I remember how much you liked me, back in Virginia. You liked me a _lot_."

Fang's hands clenched as Sam spoke. "Yeah. Maybe." I said matter-o-factly. "But, I'm over jerks. I've moved on. On to better guys." I glanced over at Fang who looked as though he was about to rupture from anger.

"Oh, you know you can't resist me." Sam said, spreading out his sharp, yellowed teeth. I snorted in response.

"Is that really what you think? Well, you're mistaken wolfy." I said, seething in frustration. "Why don't you come over here and I'll tell you what I really think of you."

"Gladly." He said as he strode forwards. I took one last fleeting look at Fang and he nodded. Attack when least expected.

Sam got as close to me as he could without me snapping his neck, like he had done to me. As soon as he was in arms reach, I seized his wrists and kneed him where the sun don't shine. He swayed backwards, groaning in pain as Fang ran up behind him and snap kicked him in the back of his head. I unfolded my wings as Fang landed one last strike in the side of Sam's head, by his temple.

Fang raced back over to me and leapt into the air, his midnight black wings expanding behind him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the high noon horizon.

I glanced back behind me and saw that Sam had super strength, enhanced hearing and eyesight, and inhuman-like speed and accuracy, but one thing he didn't have, was wings.

He was running back to his second-in-command, screaming orders. Instead of saluting and running off like Erasers usually did, the second-in-command punched him, square in the nose, and ran off into the trees. My eyes widened at the sight. I craned my neck around to try and see through the treetops but the branches were too thick.

"Max!" Fang said loudly. After I had realized he had been saying my name for about a minute, I, painstakingly, turned my head to face him. "Come on. We have to find Iggy and the others." He swooped around to where I was suspended in the air.

"Yeah. Okay. I was just looking at something. Sorry." I said quickly. "Let's go."

He grabbed my hand and flew on with me. I started to get light headed from the loss of blood and my flying slowed, to a complete stop. I held my hand to my head and felt the smooth liquid coming out of the open wound. I looked up at Fang, who was hovering about a foot from me.

"Max, come on. We have to get you to Iggy so he can check out your head." He said soothingly.

"We don't even know where they are." I said, reasonably. "Just look for them, okay?" He just nodded, his normally impassive eyes looking indecisive.

I flew ahead of him and scanned the forest floor for any sign of the rest of the Flock. Where were they!?

_We're in a cave. _A small voice chimed into my head. _Over the water. On the side of the forest. _

A cave? Water? I put my flat hand over my forehead to block the sun and I looked around me. Sure enough, I saw a small basin of water to the left of the trees. A waterfall-looking rock sculpture going right through it.

I swerved away from the path I was on and turned to the water, Fang following behind me. Sometime later, we reached the rock and searched around for some sort of indentation in the sculpture.

"Max!" Fang called out from above me, "They're over here!"

I flew up and banked on the edge of the cave, the rest of the Flock running towards me. I hugged them all and walked over to the fire that they had made.

"What happened to you?" Iggy asked as he felt the side of my head. For any more cuts. "You have at least twenty rips in your head."

I looked up at him, internally laughing about his choice of words. "Sam pulled me down and my head was smashed against rocks. I think he snapped something in my neck too."

"Yeah. I heard it." Fang added in. Speaking for the first time since we got back to the cave.

"Who were they? I thought all the Erasers were dead." The Gasman said quietly as he poked the fire with a loose stick.

"I don't think they were Erasers, Gaz. They were a lot stronger. A lot faster. A lot better in general." I said as I winced from Iggy pulling a small rock out of my head.

"Max?" Angel said faintly. I looked over at her, giving her all of my attention. "You know that Eraser that was with Sam. The one that didn't hurt you?"

"Yeah, Ange." I said. "What about him?"

"He knows you. He knows you really well and he doesn't want to hurt you." She said, keeping a straight face. "He wanted to keep you safe, but he couldn't."

I looked over at her in disbelief and glanced over at Fang. His eyes widened slightly and he locked eyes with me.

"Did he say that?" Fang asked. "In his mind, I mean."

"Yeah. Over and over."

"That's really weird." Iggy said from next to me as he dabbed water onto my neck.

"Do you know him?" Gazzy asked from besides Angel.

"I- I don't think so…" I said hesitantly. "Maybe."  
"Max, your neck is really bad. It's affecting your head and back. You need to see a doctor." Iggy whispered quietly.

"Yeah, because doctors worked out so well the last time." I said, peeking at Fang, whose lips formed at half smile at the memory.

"What about your mom?" the Gasman asked.

"That's a good idea!" Angel said excitedly. "She can help you _and_ we can see Ella!"

"Okay. We'll leave tomorrow morning. Bright and early." I said, relieved that I could see my mom and sister again.

After that, Angel started talking animatedly with Gazzy about chocolate chip cookies and seeing Total again. Fang and Iggy discussed the best possible way to get to Arizona the fastest. I looked around and saw Nudge sitting at the edge of the cave, looking out at some hawks circling the water basin.

I stood up, dusted off my grimy jeans, and went over to her. I sat down and spread out one of my wings, wrapping it around her shoulders. She looked up at me, tears in her eyes, and rested her head on my shoulder. She hadn't said anything in hours. Something was wrong.

"What's wrong sweetie?" I asked, stroking the tangled mess that she called hair.

"It's nothing." She said in barely a whisper. "No big deal."

"If it's making you like this, then it is a big deal." I reasoned. "What's going on?"

"Well, when I saw Sam dragged you onto the ground, I thought he was going to-to- to kill you. I was scared, Max. I don't want to lose you. You're like my mom and I love you." She took a deep breath and continued. "It looked like he snapped you in half and it reminded me of when I was with Fang over Lake Mead when you went to help Ella, and I saw those hawks brutally rip open those animals. And when Fang went after you, I didn't know what would happen and-"

Tears started streaming down her cheeks and I enveloped her in my arms. She cried into my t-shirt and I whispered into her ear, "Don't worry, sweetie. I'm not going anywhere. Not for a long, long time."

so, good? bad? great? suck-ish? amazing? horrible? so good it's not funny? so bad there are no words to describe it?

feedback is always welcome.


	7. Chapter 6

Enjoy chapter six!

Tears started streaming down her cheeks and I enveloped her in my arms. She cried into my t-shirt and I whispered into her ear, "Don't worry, sweetie. I'm not going anywhere. Not for a long, long time."

She nodded and stood up slowly, untangling herself from the inside of my wing. She walked over to where Angel and the Gasman were lying down and sat down next to Angel. I smiled as they started talking about something enthusiastically and it looked as though Nudge was alright. I looked out at the dimming sky.

I heard the small sound of pebbles being kicked and the shuffle of boots along the hard stone floor. I looked up at the person standing behind me and saw Iggy. He carefully sat down and dangled his feet off of the edge of the cliff. We sat in silence but I could feel the tension building between us.

I finally turned to him, "Are you okay? You're never this quiet."

"I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about." He said and as though he could sense the confusion radiating off of me, he continued. "I was thinking about your neck, and it you really do anything else to it, you could end up paralyzed. Even flying the wrong way could change your mobility. We have to be careful."

"I think I'm fine. There's barely any pain. At all, but we _are_ going to see my mom tomorrow and she can help me." I said calmly.

"Okay, okay. Just let me look at it one last time. Just to make sure it's not snapped too badly." He said, pointing at the area where my shoulder met my neck.

"Fine." I answered as I pulled my hair off of my neck. I felt him feel my neck, head, and back in different places, looking for anything unusual. He then hit a sore spot. I winced and sucked in a harsh breath. I bit my lip hard as he applied some pressure to the middle of my back.

"What are you doing?" I hissed as I let my hair back down.

"It looks like you- - like you have a disk out of place in your spine…" he said slowly. "It must hurt. A lot. We have to get you to your mom's house."

"It doesn't hurt that bad. It can wait until tomorrow." I said quickly as I stood up.

I walked over to where Fang was sitting against the wall, banking the fire. I lazily sat down next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. I watched as he gently put the stick we was using on the floor of the cave and wrapped his ropey arms around me. I smiled into his chest.

"So. What now?" I asked after a few minutes of silence. I looked up and into his deep brown eyes, instantly losing myself and all of my surroundings.

"Don't know." He replied honestly.

"Back to incomplete sentences, are we?" I asked while laughing at my own joke.

He looked down at me, his dark eyes gleamed through the night air. "It's what I'm best at, isn't it?" He asked, probably meaning it to be rhetorical question.

"No. I know something you're a _lot_ better at." I said mysteriously. I saw bewilderment deep in his eyes and I smiled. I could read him like no one else could. I leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "_That_ is what you're the best at." The corners of his lips twitched up and he kissed my hair.

"Sleep. You've had a long day. I'll take first watch." He said as I positioned myself so my head rested on his hard chest. Even though I didn't relax, I fell asleep as calm as ever.

I woke up to someone shaking my legs violently. I snapped open my eyes and I saw Nudge and Iggy both yanking at my legs, with Angel and the Gasman laughing hysterically next to them. Fang was lightly chuckling when he saw my expression.

"I told you this would wake her up!" Nudge said. At least she was back to her old self again.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked groggily.

"Well, we couldn't wake you up and I guess you kind of needed your sleep anyway, but you really slept in and Fang said that we should be going to Dr. M's house now and it would be very helpful if you were awake. We tried everything! We got Fang to kiss you like in Sleeping Beauty, except that didn't work. It was cute though. You two are so cute together and I'm SO happy _finally_ got together! It's like a miracle. What was I talking about? Oh yeah! Waking you up! Well, Gazzy tried waking you up by one of his special stink bombs. All you did was make a weird face and turn over. Your face kind of looked like this." Nudge stopped talking for about five seconds while she made the face. She scrunched up her nose so there were visible lines all around it. Her eyes looked like they were a mixture between confused and scared because they were opened to about the size of dinner plates and her mouth looked like a 'D' turned ninety degrees to its left.

Everyone laughed as she continued. "And then we tried dumping water on you, but it didn't work. You just groaned and hit Iggy in the face for dumping the water. It was really funny actually. You gave him a bloody nose. Wow. Even in your sleep you're lethal! Anyway, then we kind of got bored and totally gave up, but Iggy and me got bored so we decided to have a contest. It was to see who could shake your legs harder. I think I won. I was on your left leg. He was on your right. I still think Iggy cheated. I don't know how though. I wonder ho-" the Gasman slapped his hand over her mouth.

"My ears are bleeding!" Iggy yelled as he fell backwards on the floor and Angel and the Gasman started laughing. "Stop talking. PLEASE!"

Even I laughed at this. I sat up and reached over for my bag. I grabbed a breakfast bar and shoved half of it in my mouth. "You guys ready to go?" I asked as I stood up, legs feeling like jello.

I got a chorus of 'yeah' s and they went over to grab their packs. One by one, we jumped off of the ledge and snapped out our wings. Fang and I were the last in the cave.

"Look. Let me know if you're hurting, okay?" he said, worry masked on his face. "I don't want you falling out of the sky onto some poor kid's dog."

I laughed and said, "Okay. There's next to no chance I'll fall, but if I do, you'll be the first to know."

I ran off out of the cave and let myself drop a few yards before I whipped out my wings and beat them to raise myself. I lingered around the cave, waiting for Fang and then we flew off. Finally going to see my mom.

After about an hour of flying I looked out at the Flock, who were spread out throughout the sky. The Gasman and Iggy were flying below me, talking about something in hushed tones. If they were thinking of setting off another bomb, they are going to be in so much trouble. Angel and Nudge were flying ahead of me, discussing the two things I hate the most. Shopping, and hair. I rolled my eyes when I heard them talking about giving me a makeover. Like I'd let that happen.

I looked up and saw Fang soaring high above me, his powerful wings beating in sync with mine, unintentionally. Being as silent as ever. I slowed down to a complete stop and looked around. We were about forty-five minutes from my mom's house. We had to go west. I changed directions and flew on.

After about five minutes I said, "So, guys, we still haven't decided your punishments." They all looked at me and gulped.

"P-p-punishments?" Iggy said, while darting his unseeing eyes in different directions.

"Yes. Punishments." Fang said as he dropped down to my level.

"So, Iggy, Gazzy." I said, looking at Fang. He nodded and I continued. "No making bombs. Not for another two weeks, and if I catch you guys making one, then I will add on two more. Got it?" They looked at me sullenly and nodded.

"Angel, Nudge, you guys are NOT allowed to go shopping for anything other than what we absolutely _need_ while we are at my mom's." They always had a habit of going to the mall when we visited my mom and buying a ton of stuff we didn't need. "Understand?"

"Yeah." Angel said with a glum expression.

"Yep!" Nudge chirped. "But, that doesn't mean we can't buy _you _anything pretty right?"

"That _especially_ means you can't but me anything 'pretty'." I said quickly, making sure that it was understood. "No shopping." She sighed and turned back to Angel and continued talking about what they would have bought.

Fang spoke up from next to me and said, "Did you have to do that?"

"Do what?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Tell them they couldn't buy _you_ anything." He said, disappointed. "I would love to see you in something they pick out. No matter how much you hate it."

I looked at him and grimaced. I flew closer to him and whacked him on the back of the head with my wing. He shook his messed-up hair out of his eyes and smiled, lighting up the whole sky.

Once we finally reached my mom's house, we all sprinted to the door, only to find that she was standing there with Ella, waiting for us. Angel ran up to my mom and she picked her up, kissing her on the cheek. Nudge immediately went over to Ella and they started chatting about guys. Iggy and Gazzy followed Nudge and Angel's lead, only without the kissing or talk about guys. I hung back and waited for my mom to have free arms.

I looked up at Fang and he half-smiled down at me, making my heart skip a beat. I grabbed his hand and we walked up to my mom and she immediately hugged me. I put my hands on her back and held on tight, whispering, "I missed you, mom."

She whispered in my ear, "Max, Max. I missed you too." She pulled away from me and looked at Fang. She knew he wasn't the most 'lovey dovey' person from their last encounter. She just nodded in his direction, smiling, and she said, "Hello Fang. Nice to see you again. Come inside. All of you."

I smiled and walked into the house, after slipping my hand back into Fang's. Ella skipped over to me, gave me a one armed hug, and pulled back. "Max! I've missed you so much! I-" She stopped dead when she saw my hand in Fang's. Her mouth hung open into a lopsided smile and she attempted to get words out. All she could do was stutter. She turned around and ran out of the room screaming "Nudge! Explain! Now! Why didn't you tell me! NUDGE!"

I looked up at Fang and we both burst out laughing. I clutched my stomach and bend over my knees laughing hysterically. I smiled up at him and he picked me up bridal style, still trying to calm himself down.

He placed me on the table and Iggy walked into the room with my mom. She hurried in and immediately started fussing over my back. I took off my t-shirt and she worked around the tank top I had underneath it.

"How did this happen?" she said as she poked and prodded my neck, looking for sore pots.

"You know that kid Sam I told you about? From Virginia?" She nodded hurriedly. "Well, it turns out he _was_ an Eraser, and we sort of found that out yesterday. We were about to escape when he pulled me to the ground and I think something snapped."

"Oh god. Iggy. I think you were right. Something in her back shifted. I need an x-ray." She said once she finished looking at my back. "I know someone who can help us. Fang. Don't let her walk."

I groaned as Fang picked me up again and waited for what to do. Ella, Angel, the Gasman, and Nudge walked into the room.

"What's going on?" Ella asked.

"I have to take Max into the clinic for another x-ray. Maybe some treatment. Stay here." My mom said as she grabbed her keys and her coat.

"I'm expecting you to listen to Ella guys." I said from Fang's arms. They all nodded.

"Max, you might need some kind of procedure." My mom said slowly as she looked at my back again.

"Uh… it's not going to involve valium is it?" I asked carefully, not wanting to reenact the day when I got my chip taken out of my arm.

It was quiet for a few seconds and then Ella, Fang, and my mom burst out laughing. I just sat there, in Fang's arms and crossed my arms over my chest. Iggy, Nudge, and the Gasman were looking at them like they were crazy and Angel had a concentrated look on her face. After a couple seconds of reading their thoughts, she laughed too.

"Max! I can't believe you said that!" She squealed in between laughs. I just pouted and looked up at Fang who seemed to be over his little fit on un-Fang-like laughing. He kissed me and out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mom look at us in confusion.

I shook my head and gave her a look that said 'we'll tell you later'. She nodded and ran out the door and into the car. Iggy followed after her and jumped into the passenger's seat. Fang set me down in the back seat and then climbed in next to me.

The car ride to the clinic was very uneventful. It was silent the whole trip. Once we got there, I had to walk in so no one would suspect anything. We made it to her office, which had an operating room attached to it, and she set me up onto an x-ray machine.

"I have to take four, so stay absolutely still." She said as she went into the hallway to take the x-ray. I tried not to move.

Once the x-rays were taken, I was able to sit up. Fang sat next to me and Iggy stood next to my mom, talking about the possibilities. My mom turned around and said, "Max, you're going to need this disk rotated back into place. You'll need surgery. Right away."

"Okay. Can you do it?" I asked.

"No. I was able to take out the chip, but I do not know how to do this. I could make you paralyzed." She said, unhappily. "I do know a woman who can do it. She would need to see your wings, but she can keep a secret.

I looked over at Fang and he nodded. "We need you to be one hundred percent for the future."

I turned to my mom and took a deep breath. "When can she be here?" My mom grabbed the phone and started dialing.

"Hello? Simone! Yes, can you come to the clinic? Now. It's an emergency. Five minutes? Okay. Thanks. Bye." She looked over at me and I have her a weary smile.

Minutes past and then we heard a knock at the door. A woman stepped through the threshold and she looked just like…

hehe. cliffhanger.

so… what'd you think? it's longer than the other chapters, but I had a more to write. it's basically a filler chapter though… fang was a little out of character. i tried to go for some humor in this chapter so… tell me if it worked.


	8. Chapter 7

so, here's chapter seven. i liked parts of it, but others i wasn't too proud of but, oh well.

Enjoy the new chapter!

My jaw dropped when I saw her. I heard my mom call her Simone, and she was the spitting image of someone I knew. Her curly blonde hair was slipped back into a sleek ponytail, soft twirls cascading down her back. Her light blue eyes looked stressed as she walked into the room. She was slender, but muscular at about 5'8".

"Valencia! What's the emergency?" She said in a distraught voice, her eyes darting between me, Fang, and Iggy.

"Simone, I need your help with something." My mom said calmly. "You have to keep in mind that this is one hundred percent real and it _must_ be kept a secret."

Simone glanced around, looking at each one of us, "What's going on? I'll help."

"This is my daughter. Max." Mom said gesturing to me. "She has a problem with a disc in her back, and it is the utmost importance that she be treated immediately."

"Y-Your daughter? Max? I thought- Ella?" She shook her head. "I'll ask later. Did you take x-rays?"

"Yes. Come here. We have determined where it is." She said. "Come look."

"This looks bad." Simone said as she shed off her jacket, "How did it happen?"

My mom looked over at me and nodded her head. I began to take out my windbreaker and t-shirt, leaving me in a tank top. "I think Max should explain that to you." Simone turned to me and her eyes widened as I spread out my wings.

"Are those-" She looked over at my mom, "Valencia, if this is some kind of trick, it is so not funny! I have never seen anything like this before. In my life! And I have seen some pretty strange things before! What is going on here! Why does she have- Why does she have wings? Do the boys have them too? How did she get hurt? What is going on?"

"Listen, Max and the boys have wings. They have small air sacs also. Hollow bones, and large lungs. I'll explain everything later, but right now, I need you to help me." Mom said slowly, placing her hands on Simone's shoulders.

Simone just looked at me with a bemused expression and then came over to me, placing her hands on my back. "Tell me when it hurts, and please describe what happened."

I took a deep breath, "Well, we have wings, and I was going to, that hurts, start flying when an Eraser, a human-lupine hybrid, attacked me. He pulled me to the ground and I heard something snap. I was unable to get away before he kept attacking."

"Human-lupine hybrid?" she clarified and I nodded. "I'm guessing that you guys are human-avian hybrids." I nodded again and she sighed. "Okay. We need to get you to the hospital. I can get you into an operating room without anyone noticing. Um, Fang? Is it? Can you help me with her?"

Fang walked over to me and picked me up bridal style, carrying me out into the hallway. We walked through the almost empty lobby and out into the parking lot. Fang climbed into the back of the car and set me down beside him. My mom and Iggy came out five minutes later with Simone.

"Max, I can help you with your back, but it's going to be awhile until you're mobile." Simone said as she closed the car door and spoke through the window.

"Okay. Uh, thanks." I replied, not really knowing what to say.

We drove to the hospital in silence that seemed to be happening a lot lately. It seemed like my mom was crawling along the highway, but I looked at the speedometer and it said she was going sixty-six miles per hour. I looked out the window and thought about everything I could to try and take my mind off of what was going on.

I tried not to think of Sam, and the other Erasers, and even the school, not knowing if it even existed anymore. I wasn't sure of anything at this point.

Once we pulled into the hospital parking lot, we got out of the car and met up with Simone, who was waiting at the main entrance. She led us down and around the hospital. I became more and more anxious as I walked down the doctor-filled hallways. I became lightheaded by the anti-septic smell throughout the whole hospital.

Iggy was happier than ever, other than being back in a hospital, he was able to see. Everything was white, so he was able to navigate better, and follow us by sight instead of footsteps. Fang, on the other hand, was more paranoid than I was. He twisted his head in every direction, watching every single person who walked past us through narrow eyes.

We finally made it to a vacant operating room. Simone had me sit down as she explained a few things. "I know what to do with your back. It's a semi-long procedure, but the recovery rate is about two weeks." She said as she starting setting up some materials.

"One for us." Iggy added in. "We heal faster than normal humans because of the avian DNA in us. It usually cuts the rehab time in half."

"Oh. Okay then." Simone said, still not getting used to the whole 'genetically engineered bird-kid' thing. "Well, the procedure will be about an hour and a half. It would probably be best if you left the room." She said, motioning to Fang and Iggy.

They both looked at me as I stood up and I nodded. Fang leaned down to hug me and whispered in my ear. "You're going to be fine." I smiled and kissed him. He took a couple steps back and held his arms out wide. "Remember, you love me this much!"

I reached down and grabbed the pillow on the x-ray machine. I chucked it at him and it hit him square in the face, grinning widely. He chuckled and left the room with Iggy. I looked over at my mom who had been looking between me and Fang, smiling.

"Come on, Max. I'm going to need you to put this gown on." Simone said, handing me a royal blue dress-like thing. "I'll have to work around your wings and I'll need space."

I nodded, finished undressing, and put the gown on as she and my mom poured over the x-rays, finding the best tactic for doing the surgery. I sat down on the table and watched as they came over to me with a large tank and a mask.

"Max, I'm going to put this on your mouth, and you will be knocked out in about ten minutes." My mom said as she unwound the mask. "It'll numb your body, so you'll feel weird."

I nodded and laid down on my stomach, head facing the wall. My mom put the mask on me and I breathed in the cold gas flowing into it. My mom turned the knob on the tank. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths through my nose. I started to begin to feel weird.

I felt my fingers and toes begin to sting like pin-pricks, just like they would if they fell asleep, just ten more times intense. All of my joints started to ache and then relax. All of my skin began to feel like it was melting and I slowly closed my eyes, against my will.

"Max?" My mom asked as if she were in slow motion. "I think she's out." She continued. _No! No I'm not! Don't start! _ I thought frantically, unable to voice my thoughts.

"Just give her another five minutes." Simone said slowly, leaning over my lethargic body. "Hand me the sheets again, I want to make sure I have the right disc." The rustling of paper was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

_I was flying, flying high over the treetops with the Flock. Nothing chasing us, no one wanting us dead. Everything was peaceful. For once. I looked over at my Flock._

_Angel flew, her golden hair whipping across her face, her pure white wings standing out from the perfectly blue sky. She looked over to me and gave me a radiant smile, her white teeth gleaming. Her blue eyes sparkled in the sun. _

_Next to her, the Gasman was flying, his light brown wings beating in unison with Angel's. His short, blonde hair waved as the wind swirled through it. He looked over at me with Angel and gave me a cheesy, innocent smile while sticking out his tongue and moving faster. _

_Down below me, Iggy was gliding back and forth between trees. I watched as he dodged each one with perfect precision. His clouded, unseeing, blue eyes leading him delicately through the forest, a carefree grin spread across his face. _

_Out in front of me, Nudge was swooping around the wide open sky, doing back flips and front flips gracefully. Her dark brown hair seemed to be floating in curls around her head, carefully framing it. Her tawny wings spread out around her._

_Fang was drifting directly above me. I watched as his eyes darted in every direction, taking in the view from the sky. This couldn't be Fang seeing as a small, soft smile spread across his face as he looked down. His midnight-black wings, glowing in front of the sun._

_I looked around after hearing extra sets of wings beating. What was that? I saw two small figures next to Angel. Total and Akila. We knew Total had wings, but Akila? Total's pure brown wings were about six inches larger than Akila's pinkish-white ones. They seemed to have no trouble flying, just like they had been flying their whole lives._

_Everything seemed so perfect. So amazingly perfect. _

_Until I head a quick 'swoosh' and a trail of hot air. I watched as Angel and the Gasman did a quick dodge, and Iggy flew up from the forest, out of breath. Nudge turned and looked at me with a terrified look on her face. It looked like they were okay. One of us, however, was not. I looked up, to see Fang falling. Fast._

_I screamed for Iggy, tears escaping my eyes. He bolted to my side, holding out his arms. I held out my own and took Iggy's hands in mine. I felt Fang's body fall heavily in our arms and we lost altitude._

_As we fell, Angel, the Gasman, and Nudge helped us carry the unconscious Fang. We landed on the ground, directly below us, and placed Fang on the ground softly. I put my ear to his chest and heard short, shallow breaths. Tears refilled my eyes and I tore open his shirt. In between two of the three long scars made by Ari's claws, was a large hole. A bullet wound. _

_I watched his chest rise and fall and I lifted his head onto my lap, whispering into his ear. Crimson blood slowly escaped down from the deep hole in his chest and dripped down onto my hands. Tears spilled down my cheeks and onto his cold, bare stomach. I watched as they mixed with the blood._

_His breathing became slower, calmer. I leaned down and placed my lips on his, my hair cascading down around his face. I reached away from him and closed my eyes as I heard his breathing slow to a stop. I looked down at Fang's lifeless body and gritted my teeth. This can't be happening._

_It can't be true. This can't be happening. It can't!_

"No, no, no, no!" I yelled, bolting upright, sending a sharp, lingering pain down my back, "It can't happen. It couldn't happen."

"Max!" I heard a voice behind me yell, "Sit down! I need you to lay down! Now! You'll tear the stitches!" I turned around to see my mom jogging towards me, eyes full of worry.

"Lay down, its okay." A woman said from beside me. Simone. "It's okay. It was just a dream." She said as she stroked my hair. I felt my eyes watering.

I wiped a stray tear and looked up at the two women through swollen eyes. I sighed and nodded my head slowly. I whispered, "Get Fang in here." In an icy tone. I needed to see him. I needed to make sure he was okay.

My mom nodded as soon as I stopped talking and she ran into the hallway, coming back in a minute later with Fang at her side, looking scared to death. Iggy followed them, feeling the walls with his sensitive fingers.

Fang sprang to my side when he saw me. He sat down next to me and wrapped his arms around me tightly. I just sat there, crying, hoping he would never let go. I felt him kiss my hair and I buried my face in his shirt.

"What happened?" He whispered frantically. "What's wrong."

I looked at his normally impassive face and saw only two emotions in it. Fear and worry. I took a deep breath and started to explain my meltdown. "Once they put me out, I was dreaming, and we were flying and everything was perfect. Then someone took a shot- and it- it- it hit you. You fell, and died." I felt a new wave of hot tears stream down my face.

"It's okay." He whispered as he pulled me into his arms again. "I'm here. It's okay."

After what felt like forever of being in Fang's arms, I finally pulled back from him. I looked up at my mom and Simone and I looked down at my fingers and blushed.

"Come on sweetie, you have to lay down so you won't tear any stitches." My mom said as he gently pushed me down.

I was moved over to a wheeled bed and rolled into an actual room where I could sit upright in the bed. Fang and Iggy stood by my side the whole time.

"Is this how it felt when I was in the hospital?" Fang asked, eyes cautiously darting around.

I glanced over at Iggy and smiled. "Yep" we said in unison.

"I need to go home to get the kids. Are you guys okay with Simone? I have the feeling Ella let the kids do something they're not supposed to." My mom said, sounding irritated.

"Yeah. She probably did." Fang said knowingly.

"Angel and Nudge can be very… persuasive." Iggy said, obviously knowing from experience. No one wants to think about the time he had to fly in hearts over the nearest town, wearing nothing but a grass skirt and sombrero, screaming 'We are family! I got all my sista's with me!' motioning to Fang, of course.

"Yeah. I think we'll be fine." I said, glancing at Simone who was in the corner of the room washing her hands in the large steel sink.

My mom grabbed her keys off of the side table and ran out the door to go get the kids. I looked over at Fang and smiled. He cleared some strands of hair off of my forehead and kissed it lightly.

Iggy come from across the room and dropped something on the bed. I looked down and saw a deck of cards sitting on my legs. He smiled at us and said, "Anyone up for poker?"

I looked over at Fang who was smirking as he grabbed the deck off of my legs. "You're on, Ig. You in, Max?"

"Eh. Why not?" I said as I watched Fang do some fancy shuffling tricks. I rolled my eyes. "Must you show off?" I asked.

"I must." He said, leaning in and kissing the corner of my eye lightly. He then proceeded to deal.

Fifteen minutes later, we even got Simone to play, and even with her poker skills, we still all lost. To Iggy.

"Oh, come on! How can you win again?" I asked, starting to get angry.

"I'm magic." He said, winking his sightless eyes.

"I don't believe that. You can't even see the cards!" Simone accused. "I think you cheated!"

"How could I do that? I mean, I _can't see the cards_." He said, mocking Simone.

"I'm out." Fang said, throwing down his cards, he had junk cards. I looked down at my cards and threw them down. I didn't have anything either. I looked at Simone as she rolled her eyes and groaned. She threw her cards down and Iggy cheered.

"Ha! Full house!" He practically screamed.

"I quit." Fang said as he got up from the bed and stretched out his arms.

"Me too." Me and Simone added at the same time, laughing. She continued, "Max, do you need anything else? Water?"

"Water would be good." I answered.

"I'll get it." Fang volunteered. He walked over to the door when Iggy chimed in.

"I'll come."

They left the room and I looked at Simone. She just looked so familiar. There was no way I could know her though. It would be impossible. I would have remembered her. I remember everyone. She almost looked like…

"Max?" She said, interrupting my thoughts. "Are you okay?"

I nodded and looked in her eyes. "You just look so familiar. I feel like I've seen you before. A lot."

She smiled and stood up from the end of the bed. "Really? How do I look familiar?" She asked, curiously.

"You just look like someone I know. It's nothing." I said, while looking down at my hands. "Can I ask you a question? It's a weird one. You might think I'm crazy."

"After all of the things your mom told me while I was working on you, I don't think anything can surprise me again."

"Okay, well," I took a deep breath and looked up at her. "Have you ever had kids? Ones that were taken away from you? When they were babies?"

She looked up at me through wide eyes. "How did you know about them?"

"You did?" I asked, bewildered. "That's amazing. How old were they?"

"My daughter. She would be seven in five months if she hadn't been taken. She was a gorgeous kid. The prettiest eyes." She said, reminiscing. "My son, oh he was a special one. He would be eight now. Why do you want to know?"

"I just know a couple of kids who look just like you. Nothing big." I said, looking at my hands.

"Oh. Okay." She said, looking distraught.

"Simone, were back. I brought the kids." Ella looked up and gave her mom a look, "And Ella. She –of course- is not a kid."

"Max! Are you okay?" Angel said, hopping onto the hospital bed. "Your mom told us what you had done. I can't say it though. It's too big of a word…" She looked off into space.

"Yeah! Does it hurt? What'd they do? Can I go shopping? Am I still in trouble? That's unfair!" Nudge said, finishing a conversation by herself.

"Yeah! Really! Going without bombs for a week is torture!" the Gasman said and Iggy nodded.

"Then let the torture begin." I said while rubbing my hands together with an evil smile plastered onto my face. I looked over at Simone and I mentally wacked myself in the head. "Sorry, everyone, this is Simone. She helped us out. Simone, this is Angel, the Gasman, and Nudge, and you already know Iggy and Fang."

"Nice to meet you guys." She said, smiling.

Angel looked up at her and said, "Why do you look like me and Gazzy?"

Simone took a deep breath and sighed. "The truth, sweetie, I'm your mom."

how was that for a surprise? good? bad?

review! tell me how i'm doing!


	9. Chapter 8

this is just another filler chapter but enjoy it anyway.

_**Chapter eight, part one**_

"Holy (insert-swear-word-of-your-choice-here)!" the Gasman screamed. He turned around and sprinted out the glass door.

"Gazzy!" I yelled after him, trying to pull myself up. I wanted to go after him. I wanted to see what was wrong. Fang came over to me and gave me a look that said 'sit down before you kill yourself'. He gently pushed me against the back of the chair.

"I'll get him." He said, jogging out of the room and turning in the hallway.

"What was that about?" Simone asked, feigning confusion and worry. She craned her neck, trying to see around the bend. "What happened with him?"

"You sold us!" Angel cried out. "We don't want you as a mom!"

"I-I sold you? What are you talking about, sweetie?" Simone stammered. Her eyes darted around cautiously.

"You sold us to the School! You sold Gazzy for ten thousand dollars!" Angel shrieked, tears streaming down her face, "I don't want to know how much you sold me for! You're not a good mom!"

I put my hand on her cheek as she climbed up on the bed next to me. I kissed her head and stroked her hair.

"I have no idea what you are talking about!" Simone half-shouted at Angel. "You just have an extremely over-active imagination."

Angel unburied her face from my shoulder and looked up at Simone through furious eyes. "Yes you do! You are thinking about the big fat check you got when you sold Gazzy!" Her enraged face, turning red. She concentrated on Simone and a look of mixed fury and hurt was wiped across her face. "You sold me. You sold me for twenty thousand dollars!"

I was suddenly enraged. It was bad enough that she sold two of my Flock, but she sold my baby, for twenty thousand dollars! She went too far. I bolted up in the bed, clenching my hands and gritting my teeth. I went to lunge at her before Iggy grabbed me around the waist.

"Max! Don't!" He grunted out as he tried to restrain me. I let him push me backwards onto the bed, ignoring the sharp pain racing up and down my spine.

I bit back a low growl and glared at Simone. "I think you'd better leave." I said in an icy tone. "Anyone who hurts part of my Flock, is _not_ welcome. I don't ever want to see you again, and if I do, it won't end well. For you."

She looked at my mom, who gave her an emotionless glare. She grabbed her jacket and bag and stormed out of the room, slamming the door on her way out.

I looked down at Angel and kissed her hair. She curled up against my side and cried into my t-shirt. Nudge walked over to Angel's side and rubbed her back. I saw a few tears slide down her cheeks as well. I glanced over at Iggy, who was sitting in a chair across the room, leaning forward, head in his hands. I sighed and rubbed Angel's arms briskly. My mom was pacing, back and forth, biting her thumbnail. Ella just sat on the counter, staring at the floor.

I heard a creak as the door swung open revealing the Gasman's tear-streaked face, and Fang, standing behind Gazzy, holding his hand. Fang walked the Gasman over to Angel, where he dropped his hand. Gazzy pulled Angel into a hug, and they didn't let go.

I watched as Nudge went over to the chair Iggy was sitting in and knelt down in front of him, taking his hands in hers. Fang came over to my side and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Max," my mom said "I'm going to be able to take you home tomorrow. You have to spend the night to make sure your condition is stable."

"I think I'm stable enough." I said, climbing off of the bed. "We're going home right now. This place is freaking me out."

"Max," she started, but one look from me shut her up. I stood on my wobbly legs and watched as she ushered the kids out so I could change back into my jeans and t-shirt.

Five minutes later, I stepped into the hallway, trying not to think about the anti-septic smell. We started walking out towards the car and Angel grabbed my hand, tears still in her eyes. She looked up at me and gave me a weak smile. I stroked her hair and squeezed her hand.

We got into the car, and it became very cramped, very fast. I was sitting in the front seat next to my mom, Angel was sitting on Ella's lap in the back and Nudge was sitting next to them. In the back row, Iggy and Fang sat normally with the Gasman, much to their discomfort, sprawled out on top of them. The complaining lasted the whole trip.

"Max! Gazzy poked me!"

"Max! Nudge yelled at me!"

"Max! The Gasman farted on me!"

"Black!"

"Max! Angel is heavy!"  
"Max! Ella's too hard!"

"Max! Gazzy poked me again!"  
"Max! Nudge hit me!"

"Blue!"  
"Max! Gazzy and Nudge are arguing!"

"Max! The Gasman is copying me!"

"Max! The Gasman is copying me!"

"Max! Angel read my mind!"

"Max! Fang told me to shut up in his mind!"

"Green!"

"Max! Nudge is being a magnet again!"

"Max! I am not!"

"Max! Iggy is feeling every color and yelling it!"

"Mocha?"

"Max! Iggy hit me in the face!"

"Max! Tell them to shut up!"

"Guys!" I shouted over their complaints. "Just shut up and ignore each other."

Throughout the rest of the ride, I only heard silent protests of the seating arrangements. Once we finally made it back to the house, we all sprinted out of the car. I followed my mom into the house and collapsed on the couch.

I tried to think about everything that was going on.

Topping the list of unanswered questions today were:

Who was that mystery second-in-command Eraser?

Who _really_ was Angel and the Gasman's mother? Is she working for the school?

Why did she sell Angel and the Gasman?

What's with the new breeds of Erasers?

Is it safe here?

Some of the questions, I thought I would never know the answer too, but I spent the most time thinking about question number one. Who was the mystery second-in-command Eraser? He looked so familiar.

I closed my eyes and tried to think of where I've seen him before. His furry face was imprinted into my eyelids. His long jaw line was covered in dark brown hair. His short nose was the focal point of his face. His high cheekbones and temples were layered in thick fur.

I wracked my brain, trying to remember, but I couldn't. I reopened my eyes and saw Fang coming into the living room.

"Hey," He said quietly. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine, just thinking." I answered as he said as he sat down on the edge of the couch next to me.

He looked at me, intrigue hidden in his eyes, "About what?"

"Nothing." I said, looking down at my hands, he raised one eyebrow and looked at me knowingly. "Fine. I was thing about that Eraser. The one that punched Sam. He looked so familiar."

"So it wasn't just me." He mumbled, more to himself than to me.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"It's just that, he looked familiar to me too." He said quietly. "I don't know why though."

"Oh, okay." I said, almost let down that he didn't know who it was. "I don't think the kids noticed yet, or Iggy, so don't tell them until we're sure we've seen him before."

He simply nodded. I looked up at him and smiled. He leaned down, kissed me, and stood up, leaving the room. I sighed and looked at the ceiling. What is going on? My whole world is being turned upside down.

_**Chapter eight, part two**_

The rest of the week flew by fast, and before I knew it, I was pushing the Flock out the door. We all stood in front of my mom and Ella, hugging them one by one. By now, my back was almost completely healed. I just had some sensitive tissue around the scar.

I hugged my mom goodbye and turned to walk out towards the woods. I saw three Flock members in front of me, and one besides me, but one was still missing. I turned on one heel and looked back at the house. Iggy was standing there with Ella, hugging her goodbye, heartache written all over her face. When they pulled back, Iggy gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

I turned around, stifling laughs. Sweet innocent Ella, falling for bomb-loving pyromaniac Iggy. This really proved the phrase 'opposites attract' to be right. I looked over at Fang, who was standing next to me, still looking at Ella and Iggy. I smiled and dragged him along with me.

I let my wings out through the slits in my jacket and I took off, beating them hard to catch some air. I followed Fang up to where Angel and Nudge were having a staring contest and waited for Iggy. He flew up and I smiled mischievously.

"Hey lover boy." I said, "Glad you could join us."

Angel looked up at me, still not blinking, and said "Iggy is doing mean things to you in his head." She thought for a minute, "What's 'flipping someone off'?"

I looked at Iggy and gritted my teeth. I flew up behind him and smacked him upside the head. He groaned and held his hair.

"So, Iggy, you like my sister, huh?" I asked, obviously getting him increasingly mad.

"I totally do! Like oh my god! She is so pretty! I love seeing her! Except I can't. I like kissing her too. She's crazy! If you know what I mean." I looked over at him, mouth open in amazement. How could he say something like that about my sister! I grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him towards me, growling slightly.

I heard laughing behind me. "Ma-Ma-Max! It was me!" The Gasman choked out between laughs. I looked at him and groaned. Even without bombs, this kid always seems to get me mad.

I just flew on ahead of them.

Behind me, I heard arguing over who won the staring contest, and whether it's cheating to invade someone's mind and force them to blink. I think you can guess who was on each side. Iggy was flying down below me, still mad at the Gasman for getting me mad, therefore taking it out on him for liking my sister. Being the leader is so hard sometimes.

"Where are we going?" Fang called out from next to me.

"I, uh, have no idea." I said, truthfully, I looked down and something caught my eye. "Hey, does that guy look familiar to you?"

"Yeah. He does."

"I'm going down." I said, angling my wings towards the ground.

I flew closer to the ground and the face became more and more recognizable. Two people were standing with him, talking with him, discussing something fervently. I realized who it was.

It took me a second longer to make out the two faces besides him, but I knew them too. The woman handed the man something as the boy pulled a gun out of his pocket.

The man, standing on the ground, was Jeb.

The woman, handing Jeb a small brown package, was Simone.

The boy, loading the small handgun, was Sam.

yep, chapter eight. there was actually no real reason that I put in part one and part two… i was just bored.

so... if you want, review. i don't care if you flame. i take it as criticism.


	10. Chapter 9

disclaimer- i, sadly, do not own maximum ride and i do not own twilight.

claimer- i own the plot. whatever that may be.

I slowly lowered myself in between the trees, trying not to be seen. Thoughts were flooding into my mind. _Simone really was evil. So is Jeb. What are they doing? Did she tell him where we are? Sam is right there. _

I glanced up at the sky and saw Fang, squinting his eyes, trying to see past the sun. He glanced over to me and I nodded. He began to descend, beckoning the Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel to do the same. I looked through the trees again and immediately jerked back. Something was different.

Sam was no longer there. I heard the crunch of leaves being stepped on, but didn't know where it was coming from. I looked around as I saw Angel, the Gasman, and Iggy land with Fang in front. Nudge. Where was Nudge?

I looked back up at the sky and saw her hovering there, fear in her eyes. I whipped my wings open and jumped up, barely catching any air. I watched as her face paled and her movements becoming rigorous. She looked up at me and I could see her whisper "Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Max."

I looked down below her and saw that Sam was there, pointing a gun at her, a red light shining on her stomach. Sam smirked and he saw me fly up and I jumped into action. i grabbed Nudge around the waist and barrel rolled around the shot Sam fired. After hearing the bang from the gun, the rest of the flock flew up out of the trees. I followed them. Nudge still in my arms.

Fang flew beside me and motioned for me to hand her to him and I did, after trying to figure out how to do it without dropping her, and failing multiple times. It was much different with a heavier kid.

Fang's dark eyes occasionally flickered to me and then back to the open sky. "What?" I finally asked, after about twenty minutes of this.

"I was just thinking. We need to find a place. Somewhere to stay safe." He said in the most un-Fang-like tone.

"Secluded." I said, nodding. I called out for the flock. "Guys! We have to find somewhere to stay. Cave, tree, hotel, barn, it doesn't matter where. Just find somewhere."

They all nodded and sped up. I scanned the ground as we passed through city after city, town after town. Not one of them had a good place for us. After an hour of looking, the Gasman spotted a nice hotel. I nodded and flew down after them.

We landed in the trees and I walked in, Fang and Iggy at my tail. Angel and the Gasman walked in a little slower, more lethargic.

I walked over to the check in and saw yet another kid around our age. I looked up at Fang and his eyes were steel. I held back a chuckle and said, "Can we have three rooms?"

He looked up, smiled, and looked back down at the computer. He typed some things in and I tapped my foot impatiently. He looked up at me again and hid gaze flickered over to Nudge, laying in Fang's arms. "Is she okay?" He said, genuine worry in his voice.

"Yeah. She's fine. She fell asleep on the car ride." I lied, looking thoughtfully at the boy. "We didn't want to wake her up."

"You guys don't look old enough to drive." He said slowly, looking at me and Fang. Almost as if on cue, Iggy stepped over to us and looked at the boy. Iggy, being three inched taller than Fang and having at least six inches on me, looked like he could drive. Heck, he looked like he could be a professional basketball player, with his height and genetically engineered muscle. I heard the boy mutter, "Oh."

I looked back at Fang and smirked. I handed the kid my Max Ride card and proceeded to finish getting the rooms. Once we had them, Iggy took Nudge and followed Angel and Gazzy down the hall to the elevators. We followed after them.

Once we got on the third floor, into room 416, we all crowded around one of the beds in Angel's room. Iggy gently laid Nudge down. I lightly tapped her on the shoulder and then shook her slightly. I leaned back, ready for more suggestions. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Iggy and the Gasman go into the bathroom. Together. Weird.

Five minutes later they came out, hands behind their backs, whistling. I gave them a skeptical look. Gazzy gave me a cheesy grin and Iggy smirked mischievously. I narrowed my eyes but was too late. The Gasman and Iggy had already dumb four large glasses of ice cold water on Nude, most of it bouncing off of her and splashing onto me.

I groaned, not only hearing my voice. I looked down to see Nudge wiping the water out of her eyes and sitting up. "What was that for!?" She asked, furiously tired.

"You wouldn't wake up. We thought you died." Iggy said simply. Opening his eyes wider in an attempt to look innocent. She didn't buy it.

"I can assure you, I AM NOT DEAD!" She half screamed, twisting the water out of her curly hair. I laughed and looked over at Angel.

"Come on guys, get to sleep. Take showers first." I added, mainly meaning Iggy, Fang, and the Gasman. I think they got the message because they all scowled at me. "Angel, if you hear a large bang, that's probably Nudge falling asleep in the shower. You can leave her there if you want." I said, giving Nudge a look. She stuck her tongue out at me and I smiled. Angel and the Gasman started laughing with Iggy and Fang still mad about my previous comment.

I held my hand out into the center of the little cluster of bird kids and I watched as everyone added their fist to mine. I smiled and tapped the back of their hands, them doing the same.

I left the room with Fang, Iggy, and the Gasman. I watched as Iggy slid the card into the slot and entered his room with the Gasman at his heels. I followed Fang into out room and collapsed onto a bed. He gave me a questioning look.

"You take a shower first. You need it more than I do." I said, in hope that he'll honestly take it like a man. He didn't.

"You sure about that? I don't think that stench is from me."

I stuck my tongue out at him and said, "Your right. It's Iggy." When in doubt, blame Iggy.

He gave me a small smile and proceeded into the bathroom, I heard the water start and I closed my eyes. After what felt like an eternity, he finally stepped out of the bathroom.

"You all squeaky clean?" I asked.  
"Possibly. You never know." He answered, winking at me. I laughed and stood up from the bed. I walked into the bathroom and started the water, turning it up until I saw steam coming up from it. I smiled to myself and undressed, slowly sliding myself into the scalding water.

I felt the hot water trickle down my back and the steam condensate on my cheeks. I smiled and relaxed.

About ten minutes later I, reluctantly, stepped out of the shower, wrapping myself in a towel. I dried, dressed, and proceeded out into the main room. I took a running start, and jumped onto the bed Fang was lying on. His eyes snapped open and he groaned. I smiled evilly.

"What was that for?" He asked, groggily.

"I don't know. Just felt like torturing you." I replied smugly. He groaned again and shook his head. I climbed up next to him and rested my head tiredly onto a pillow. I closed my eyes and felt a familiar prickling at the back of my neck. I snapped my eyes open and saw Fang, not even an inch from me, staring at me, a murderous look on his face.

I jumped up about three feet in the air and braced myself with my arms, "You scared me!" I half yelled at him. "Why'd you do that?"

He shrugged and said. "I don't know. Just felt like torturing you." I groaned and rolled over so my back was facing him. I could almost hear the smirk wipe across his face as he kissed me lightly on the cheek and turned over.

I silently groaned and tried to sleep.

"Max?"

"She's sleeping. Leave her alone."

"I don't think she's sleeping."

"Yes she is."

"No she isn't."

"Yes sh- don't play this game with me kid."

"I seriously think she's dead."

"She's not."  
"Are you sure?"

"Yes."  
"Are you positive?"  
"Yes."

"Are you positively sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you absolutely, positively, undoubte-"

"Yes! I am absolutely, positively, undoubtedly sure."

"Okay."

The voices stopped. The way too familiar voices were surrounding me. I heard soft movements of footsteps and I felt movement in the bed besides me. I was about five minutes later until I heard more voices.

"Are you sure?"

"Not you're just doing it to make me mad."

I didn't hear anything else, but I felt movement. I opened my eyes slowly to see Fang having Iggy in a headlock. I stifled a laugh and sat up. "What are you guys doing in here?"

"Fang let us in." Angel said from next to me. I smiled at her as she handed me a piece of toast with butter.

I looked up at Fang, who had let go of Iggy and was sitting on the desk in the corner of the room. I inwardly smiled and looked at him more carefully. His jet black hair was, as always, hanging over his deep chocolate eyes. His angular face was illuminated by the sun shining through the window besides him. I looked at his all black clothes and shook my head. The thought of Fang- The thought of Fang in _pink._ I burst out laughing.

I felt everyone's eyes on me and I heard Angel burst out into laughter next to me. After out little fit was over, we were getting four very strange looks, from four very strange kids. I saw Angel look at Fang and she burst out laughing again, causing me to think about it again. Laughing, I stood up and walked over to him letting Nudge have me spot on the bed. I pulled myself up onto the desk and looked at Fang.

I felt his hand lightly trace the scar going up and down my spine. I shuddered from the tingles his touch sent coursing through me. He smirked and said, "How's it feeling?"

"Fine." I said, not wanting him to let go of me. "Doesn't hurt anymore."

"That's good to hear." He said quietly. He leaned down and kissed my lightly and I kissed back. I felt him smile against my lips. I heard a couple 'awe's and one or two 'ew's and I broke apart from Fang. The one 'Ew' we got, was from the Gasman. Iggy, Nudge, and Angel were looking at us thoughtfully. Well, Nudge and Angel were. Iggy was sitting there, his sightless eyes fixed about four inched to the left of my left eye.

He smiled and faked a grandpa voice saying, "Now you young whippersnappers better not do anything you regret. Look at your Grand mommy!" He said, pulling Nudge towards him. "She can't even stand up in the shower without falling asleep." Everyone, including Nudge burst into hysterical laughter.

I smiled and crossed the room. I opened the curtains and heard a couple groans as the light shone in. Nudge and Iggy were going back and forth.

"Aah! The light! It burns!" Iggy said, shielding his eyes.

"What are you, a vampire?" Nudge asked.

"I vont to suck vour blood!"

"OMG! Maybe you could be Edward Cullen!" I groaned at the sound of that name. Ever since she forced us to watch Twilight on pay per view at a hotel, she's been obsessing over Edward Cullen. She was the only one who liked him. Angel and I couldn't stand hearing the hype and it was obvious the guys hated him.

"Yes, you are like my own personal brand of heroin." Iggy quoted, in a low, quite creepy voice.

"Ack! You don't shimmer in the sunlight! You only glow in the dark! We're through!" Nudge said, turning her head to the side, crossing her arms.

"Nooooooooo!" Iggy yelled dramatically. I rolled my eyes and looked out the window. I could hear them still acting like Edward and what's her name? Oh yeah, Bella. I sighed and looked into the forest where I saw someone. Familiar. I squinted my eyes and strained to see who it was. I recognized it.

The mystery second-in-command Eraser.

Mike?

how was that?

good? bad? crap-ish? okay? horrible? great?

reviews are welcome…


	11. Chapter 10

hey, how you doing, everyone! so, new chapter…!

I couldn't believe my eyes. Was this really him?

As if he heard me thinking, his head snapped up and his eyes met mine. I saw a look of fear deep in his eyes. This Mike was so unlike the one we met in the subway tunnel. He didn't seem paranoid; he didn't look over his shoulder every three seconds. He just looked scared.

He started walking towards the hotel and I sprang up from the window. I walked across the room and pulled open the door. After a couple of weird looks from the people in the hallway, I practically flew down the stairs, rather than going half a mile per hour in the elevator. I made it to the lobby and out the doors, hearing footsteps behind me.

I came face to face with the mystery Eraser. I saw how his eyes flickered down to my wrist, as if to look at the chip that had been implanted there when I was younger. I saw a familiar expression on his face. I took a step forward, looking him in the eyes.

I felt the dirt shift around me and I glanced to my side where Fang stood, fists clenched, ready to fight. I reached over and placed my hand over his, hoping it would calm him down. He looked up at me and then back at Mike.

I looked around and saw Iggy appear at my left with the kids flanking him. I looked up at Mike and gave a slight smile. I was surprised when he returned it. I thought I saw Fang's face soften in realization as he stood up straighter. Even the Gasman took a step forward, realizing who it was.

Gazzy stepped in front of me, and held out his hand. I grabbed his shoulders when Mike gave the Gasman a small smile and took his hand with a rough paw. I looked over at Fang, giving him a look that said, 'what happened when I was gone?'. He, obviously, just shrugged and looked down at the Gasman.

Fang stepped forwards and held out his hand. "Long time no see."

Mike nodded and I saw a smirk play on his lips when he saw my confused expression. He looked at Fang, as if to eg him on. Fang looked at me and started explaining, "I guess we conveniently forgot to tell you that we saw Mike in California while you were in Paris or France or something. He was the one who helped us get the word out about Itex."

I almost felt my mouth drop. He _conveniently forgot? _What kind of bull was that? I was just about to yell at him but someone beat me to it.

**(AN: I just got cake on my 'H' key. It is now dark brown and the rest of my keyboard is white. Just thought you should know… carry on…)**

"What are you talking about? You guys went to California?" Nudge questioned bluntly.

"Yeah. California. The land of hot weather and beach bunnies." Iggy said, staring dreamily at the sky through his unseeing eyes. I reached over and smacked him, muttering about how much of a sexist pig he was. 

"Why didn't you guys tell me?" I demanded.

"We're telling you now, aren't we?" Fang questioned rhetorically.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Mike. "What happened?" I asked delicately, motioning to his gruff, dog-like appearance. He just pointed at his neck, where a long pink scar was hidden. I felt my eyes widen in anticipation. He motioned to Fang and started to do a typing motion and Fang nodded, turning on his heel and walking inside, followed by four other pairs of footsteps. I looked at Mike, and realized. He couldn't speak.

I followed the flock up the stairs and into my and Fang's room with Mike on my tail. Once in the room, he sat down with Fang's laptop and started typing.

**After you guys left to go to Germany or whatever the enemies came back. They got to a lot of the people who helped you out or basically just talked to you. Instead of killing me, they kept me alive. Only to work on all of their equipment and to do research. I guess they heard about my past with computers. **

**On one day, about three months ago, the guy named Sam heard that I knew you. He got really angry when I wouldn't say anything about where you were. Because I honestly didn't know. He wanted to find you for some reason. **

**I didn't talk. He wanted to make sure I wouldn't talk again. So he cut my throat and screwed with my vocal chords. Now I can't talk.**

**I finished everything they asked me to do and I heard they were sending Sam to look for you so I volunteered to come. I needed to find you. Thinking you could help me. Now I don't see how…**

His typing trailed off and I had to read it through again. Why was he in California? What did they do to him? How was he Eraserfied? I needed some answers. One more than any.

"Do you-do you know how long Sam has been an Eraser?" I asked slowly, hoping the answer would come out in a good way. He just shook his head and looked down at the computer. His fingers hovered over the keys.

**His whole life.**

That was all he wrote. It was all I needed to know. Everything in Virginia had been a trick. One horrible, freaking trick.

I looked up at the rest of the flock who were just sitting around the room in deep thought. I looked back at Mike and saw his eyes flutter shut occasionally. I grabbed the computer from his clutch and pointed behind him at the bed.

"Sleep." I said as he shook his head. "Come on. You look tired. Just sleep it off."

He looked at me skeptically but obliged. He lied back and closed his eyes. Five minutes later, he was out like a light.

I turned back to the Flock about a long minute of silence. Now we were faced with a very important question. "Can we help him?" I whispered, not knowing if anyone heard.

"Max, everything he said- well, typed was true. He was thinking it all." Angel said seriously. "He doesn't want to hurt us."

I frowned at the thought of that. We found an Eraser. One that already knew us. One that didn't want to hurt us? It was too weird.

"We have two choices," Fang started, looking down at the carpet.

"Let him stay with us so we can help him, or send him on his way, killing him." I finished, looking up at where the kids were cramped onto one of the beds.

"I say we help him." Iggy said quietly from the armchair by the window. "He helped us, me, Fang, and the Gasman, in California. That's how we knew you were trying to contact us. We owe him."

I nodded and looked over at Nudge. "I don't know, Max. He didn't seem that nice the only time I met him, but I don't want him to die or anything."

"I want to help him!" The Gasman said, cheerfully. "He was pretty cool. In a way."

"He sounds like he really needs help, Max. He looks calm but on the inside, he's screaming." Angel said remorsefully. "It hurts."

I finally glanced up at Fang. My eyes met his and we made a silent agreement. Help him as long as we can trust him. The only thing was, how can we help him?

"There's a way!" Angel said, after reading my mind. We got her to stop talking to us in our minds, but she still won't stop reading them. "I think he has to explain it though. I don't really know what he means. It's confusing."

I nodded again, watching the Gasman and Iggy walk over to the window, discussing something. I do not want to know what. Angel and Nudge pounced on Fang, trying to let them dye his hair. It _really_ wasn't working.

I just sat down and lied back onto the carpet in the middle of the room. I put my feet up onto one of the beds and closed my eyes. What are we going to do now?

so… hope that explains a few things…

please review with your opinions and comments.


	12. Chapter 11

yo! Thank you for all of the reviews.

chapter eleven!

I closed my eyes and tried not to think of everything that was going on. I tried to imagine myself living with the rest of the flock, my mom, and half sister. I hoped it would stay peaceful forever. Every single time parts of my daydream got good, something would jump in and make the whole dream seem like the nightmare that was, honestly, my current reality. Every time that happened, I just tried to rewind and start again.

We were finally safe? Here comes the Eraser army!

Something good happened between me and Fang? Insert Iggy, Nudge, Angel, the Gasman, and Ella.

No one gets hurt? Iggy makes jokes about 'the lovebirds'. We all know what happens when he makes jokes.

I had so much weight on my shoulder that it felt as if I were glued to the ground. Not only did I have to take care of the flock, but I had to worry about my mom and Ella, try to keep Angel from taking over the minds of some of the most important people in the world, wonder if Total and Akila are okay, save the world from some unknown impending doom, decide if it is really safe to trust this new Eraser Mike, and try to figure out what was happening with Jeb, Simone, and Sam. Sometimes it was so hard to be a teenage bird kid.

I opened my eyes slowly, trying to get away from the new reoccurring nightmare replaying in my head. I glanced around and sighed in relief when I saw everyone here, safe.

"I told you! Piranhas can float after they die!" The Gasman said angrily, trying to bring his point across.

"No, because they're already dead! They'll be melting or something at the bottom of the ocean when they die." Nudge replied.

"Not if they come back to life as zombie-ghosty-piranha-things." Iggy added in, slapping the Gasman a high five with perfect precision.

"If they come back as ghosts, they really real!" Ange said, taking Nudge's side.

"_And_," Nudge said dramatically, "Zombies can't float. They only walk around going wraaaaa-aaaaahhh-raaaaa." She held her hands out in front of her in her best zombie impression.

"Ghosts can float." The Gasman said, already irritated.

"I thought you said the piranha was a zombie. Make up your mind." Angel said dismissively.

"They are zombie-ghosty things!" Iggy said, agitated. "So, they can float in the air after they die and are resurrected."

"Yeah, but who or what in their right mind would resurrect a piranha?" Nudge asked as the Gasman and Iggy raised their hands high. Of course _they_ would find some way to bring a piranha back to life.

"It's amazing how they can argue about something like this." A low voice said from behind me. I felt two strong hands grip my shoulders and I smiled. Fang sat down on the floor next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"I think I have to side with the Gasman and Iggy." I said, knowing he would disagree. "Piranha's are just cool enough to be able to float."

"Eh. I don't think so" Fang answered. "I don't agree with either of them. There is no way you could be able to resurrect a dead fish. That's insane."

"Fang?" I asked, knowing what I was going to say next would help me win my case.

"Yeah?" He replied, curiously.

"They gave us _wings_. I think if they could do that, they could bring a fish back to life."

"Yeah. I guess that's true." He said, disappointment clear in his voice. "But this debate is _not_ over."

I smiled over at him and rested my head onto his built shoulder. I watched as the rest of the flock still argued over the piranha topic. It soon became a heated discussion. My gaze moved onto the bed that Mike was laying on, lightly snoring through his elongated muzzle, chest lightly rising and falling.

I sighed and leaned more of my weight onto Fang. I saw the corners of his lips play a smile as he took me into his warm embrace. I turned towards him and looked into his deep brown eyes and became lost. It seemed as though nothing was around me and I felt so- so safe.

He started to lean down slowly and soon enough, I felt his lips on mine. I smiled and untangled my arms from his and wrapped them around his neck, tilting my head slightly. After about five minutes of lightheadedness from forgetting to breathe, I heard new noises.

Rustling.

Clicking.

Giggling?

I broke away from Fang to see Iggy, Angel, the Gasman, and Nudge crowded around Fang's laptop, Mike sitting up in the bed across from them, a smirk spreading across his wolfy face. I clambered up from the floor and away from Fang.

More giggling and laughing came from the kids when Mike typed something else. I snatched the laptop and brought it over to where me and Fang were sitting. I looked down at the word pad opened up.

**I knew they liked each other. This coming from someone who met them once. **

**Do they always do this?**

**How long has it been? Ten minutes? Fifteen?**

I looked over at Fang at reached behind me, grabbing a pillow that was resting on the floor. I hurled it at Mike and it hit him in the side of the head. More laughs came from the flock and I let myself fall backwards onto Fang. I felt his chest rise and fall stiffly so I knew he was chuckling. I closed the laptop and put it next to me, trying not to kick it. If I broke it, Fang would kill me.

After about ten minutes of laying sprawled out on the floor next to Fang, I finally figured that we should think of a new game plan. I stood up, brushed off my jeans, and took initiative.

"Okay guys. We need a new plan."

this chapter was basically a filler chapter.

review please!


	13. Chapter 12

chapter 12! enjoy!

"Guys, we need to decide what we're doing next." I said, standing up slowly. "But first, Mike? How can we help you? I'm not sure that we can."

He looked up at me with solemn eyes. He stood up and walked over to the laptop that was still sitting on the floor next to my foot. He grabbed it and plopped onto the small armchair in the corner of the room. He opened it and began to type, the clicking of the keys stopping every couple of seconds.

After about thirty second after get started typing, he finally turned the screen around. I went over and sat next to the armchair so I could read the screen easier. I felt my eyes widen as I read the one lone sentence.

**They're after me.**

I looked up at him and then over to Fang, who then said "Who is? Who's after you?"

He shook his head as if he was trying not to remember. Man, I know the feeling. As he started typing again, rage and pain flooded through his eyes.

**The head branch of the School, and the Institute. It was connected with Itex and many other cooperation's like it. The Academy. **

"The academy?" Angel asked from the corner of the room. "I've heard that before."

"Yeah, Angel. You probably heard it in school or on TV." Nudge said quietly. "I've heard the name academy a ton of times from TV and it was said a lot in school."

"No. I mean, I think I've _heard_ about it. In my mind. I heard about the Academy." Angel corrected her. "The place."

"Angel, why didn't you tell us about this?" I asked, slightly mad.

"I didn't understand what they were saying until now. I thought they meant a real academy. Not another School or Institute." She answered dully.

"What did they say? When did you hear it?" Iggy asked, leaning forwards towards Angel. "Did they say it in their minds or did they actually say it?"

"I heard it at the Itex headquarters in Europe when we were stuck there. There were a bunch of fancy looking people thinking about the start of kids at the academy. I thought they meant their kids at some boarding school or something." Angel said slowly as I nodded my head for her to continue. "They were talking about how the science 'classes' were improved from last year."

"Okay sweetie. You can tell us more later."I said, walking over to her. I smoothed her hair down and smiled.

"If they really have this Academy place, would they really want us back there?" The Gasman asked, curiously. I was about to answer when I saw Iggy', Angel's, Gazzy's, and Nudge's head look at Mike. He was the screen turned to us.

**They need you back for research. You're their top priority.**

I groaned. Great. Just what we needed. _More_ psycho scientists sending_ more_ insane jacked-up Erasers to bring us back to the land of pain, torture, and agony. This was not my idea of a happy lifestyle.

I looked up at Fang and saw traces of him fighting the monster inside him. I knew he wanted to go take out the Academy but now we had more to think about. After years of running for our lives, they knew our tricks, our habits, our weaknesses, our strengths, and our techniques. There was no way we could surprise them unless we changed our fighting style, which was not likely.

"What do we do now?" The Gasman asked in a very uncharacteristic small voice.

I smiled over at him, "There's always a plan. I promise." He smiled and perked right back up. This kid really _loved_ action. I looked at Mike as the younger kids began to goof around and play games. Me, Iggy, and Fang walked over to the bed Mike was still sitting on.

"Do they have any kind of tracing devices?" I asked quietly so the kids wouldn't hear. "Would they be able to find us right now?" He shook his head. He was finally starting to look like the old Mike. All the excess hair was gone but he looked like a 14 year-old body builder. Along with the rest of us, he looked older than he actually was. I would say he looked about eighteen, give or take. He had long pink scars across his legs and arms from fights.

**Their tracking devices were defective so they retired them.**

Retired them? What was he talking about. I thought they only 'retired' Erasers. "Wait, were the tracking devices, people? Well, actual beings?"

**Yes. When they were proved unreliable after losing you guys three times, they were retired. They have yet to create new ones.**

Create new ones. What has the world come to? Now instead of having machines do all the work like normal organizations, they 'create' people to do it. Probably kids. It was horrible. I sighed and looked up at Fang and Iggy. They both looked towards me and nodded.

We were safe. For now. How we know, you may ask. Since Iggy's sight is non-existent, his hearing has been getting better and better. Now he can hear the slightest change in any tone. He can analyze a person's height and weight by their footsteps and he could hear the human heart beating. He knew whether someone was telling the truth by their heart rate. It is all pretty cool.

Mike stood up from the bed and placed the laptop down on the table. He went over to Angel and Nudge. I could tell he liked talking to Angel because he didn't have to type. She could just read his mind and carry the conversation on. Nudge just jumped in whenever she felt like it, talking about movies, music, or the 'hottest famous guy' of the day. Believe it or not, she actually does changes her mind daily. It was quite amusing. Iggy walked over to the Gasman and, as usual, had a private conversation about something they are definitely not allowed to do. I looked to my left. It was just me and Fang.

"So, what do we do now?" He asked as I fell backwards across the bed.

"I have no idea," I admitted, staring straight at the ceiling. "I have no idea what we're supposed to do with all of this new information. It's really overwhelming." I clapped my hand over my face and uttered out a groan.

"We'll think of something." He said soothingly. He took my hand off my face and held it softly. I felt him trace smooth designs on my knuckles.

"I think we're safe here for now, but we have to leave soon. Just in case." I said, trying to make up the plan I promised Gazzy I had. "We can spend one more night to rest up. Two at the most. Then we have to leave."

"At least while we're here, let them have some fun." He said, looking over at Angel and Nudge, who were laying upside down of the bed, bored out of their minds.

I laughed and sat up on the bed. "Hey guys. What do you want to do? We have some extra time on our hands and this place has tons of things to do." Their eyes lit up as they got excited.

"I want to go to the game room with Iggy!" The Gasman said happily.

"I'll go with the Gasman!" Iggy said.

"Me and Mike want to go to the pool!" Angel said after having a conversation in her head with Mike.

"Ooh! Me too! That would be so cool! I love pools! I finally get to go swimming like I wanted to on the night that I was complaining that I wanted to. It was also the night you two got together. Awe! You're blushing. You know you love each other. I can't wait to go swimming! I love that word! I need a bathing suit! Max! Can I pick one out for you? It can be pink with stripes and ruffles! Never mind. You would kill me. Can I get those ducky float things? I can swim really well but they are just so cute! I can't wait to go swimm-" Mike, the new savior, slapped his hand over Nudge's mouth. The strange part? She kept talking through his hand.

"Nudge, you can pick something out for me as long as I can tolerate it. You can't get the duck things and we'll come with you to the pool." I heard a cough from Fang, who was still sitting next to me. "Oh, if that's alright with Fang." I said, laughing. He nodded with a satisfied grin on his face.

I shook my head, laughing. "Iggy, Gazzy. You guys are coming with us to the shop downstairs. When you're done in the game room, you can come to the pool with us."

I got a round of 'yay's and we all left the room to head downstairs. We reached to shop and I let everyone go do their own thing. Nudge and Angel went over to the girls section of the store, that had _way_ to much pink. Iggy, the Gasman, Mike, and Fang went over to the guys section. I was happy to see that Mike was pretty much fitting into my little posy of mutant bird-kids. At least he was fitting in better than Ari had.

I walked over to Nudge and Angel, who were already trying to find a bathing suit for me. After they went through three racks, they found the 'perfect one!' It was just black with blue strings. At least it wasn't pink.

I turned to walk to the register, where the boys were already standing. Fang has a typical black bathing suit. Mike had blue. Iggy had black with flames along the bottom and the Gasman has gray with a shark that said 'bite me'. That only reminded me of when he wanted to get 'bite me' shaved into his head. I shook my head, trying not to remember.

Nudge had a bright pink and purple frilly frock that I honestly did not like. At all. That's probably why she likes it. Angel had a cute blue and green bathing suit with random patterns all over. The cashier rung it all up and everyone sprinted up to the rooms to change while I paid. Once I was done, I followed them up.

After the amazing journey of changing into the swimsuit and avoiding attacks from Nudge and Angel to see it, we finally made it down to the pool. I was happy to see that the game room was right next to it with a glass wall so I could see if Gazzy and Iggy were doing something stupid. I wouldn't run it past them to actually blow up the place when I wasn't looking. After all, they've done it before.

thanks for reading, please review with comments!


	14. Chapter 13

disclaimer- i do not own maximum ride or anything that goes along with it.

I walked over to the edge of the pool, not wanting to show off the 'lovely' bathing suit that Nudge and Angel picked out for me. I just stood there in a t-shirt and shorts. I glanced around the pool and saw Nudge and Angel already in the deep end that was about ten feet deep. The Gasman and Iggy had convinced Mike to go into the game room to play a table hockey tournament with them. I didn't see Fang. After about ten minutes of spinning in circles, looking for him, I saw him. In the hot tub. Why didn't I think of that?

I strode over to the chairs that we had dumped our towels and extra clothes on and started taking off the clothes I had over my bathing suit. I turned around and as soon as I started walking towards the hot tub, I heard a wolf whistle. I spun around to see Angel laughing hysterically and Nudge with two fingers in either side of her mouth, also laughing. I shook my head, turned around, and continued walking. Sometimes those girls could be so irritating.

I finally reached the hot tub, without any more distractions. I climbed down the stairs and plopped down next to Fang, who groaned when I got him wet. I just smiled and leaned back against the cement wall. I tried to relax as the bubbles filed in around me. I felt the water move slightly and I reopened my eyes. What I saw across from me was definitely _not_ what I wanted to see.

A girl was sitting there, freckles popping off her face, red hair falling over her tanned shoulders. Lissa. I looked over at Fang, wondering if he saw what I did. To my great pleasure, he hadn't seen her yet. I sighed in relief and, beneath the water, took Fang's rough, callused hand in mine. I looked up at him and saw a smile play on his lips as he held my hand tighter. I smiled to myself and leaned back again. My work here was done.

"Nick? Is that you?" Never mind. A mutant bird girl's work is never really done. I inwardly groaned as Fang looked up and across the hot tub. He looked at me, surprise masked well in his abysmal brown eyes.

"Uh, Lissa? Hi." He said, not knowing what to say.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe that you're here! Why are you here?" She rambled on, her perfectly lined eyes lighting up every time she looked at him.

"Vacation." Wow. We're back onto _one_ word answers. I should feel special. I get _two _word answers.

"Really? Me too! I can't believe that I would see you here! That is so cool!" She said, beaming. "Oh, hi Max. It's nice to see you again."

"You too." I said, putting on a fake smile. I was never a big fan of hers. She was silent of a couple of seconds, looking at something in between Fang and I. I followed her line of sight and saw my hand, still intertwined with Fang's. I smirked as he started playing with my fingers. He must've realized what she was looking at.

"Oh! I didn't know you two were," she trailed off mid-sentence. "Wait, aren't you two related?" She asked, suspicion obvious in her voice.

"No. We're not." Fang said quickly.

"Yeah. I'm not in his family. I was just visiting with him for the time being. His uh, mom thought it would be easier if we just said my last name was the same as theirs." I lied. "It's a long story." I gave her a smile and looked up at Fang.

"Oh, well, cool." She said, unexpectedly. "Hey, good luck you two." She then climbed out of the hot tub and went over to two people that I'm guessing were her parents.

I looked at Fang, who had his brows furrowed. I laughed and said, "Well, that was,"

"Awkward." He finished for me.

"I was going to saw unusually irritating, but awkward works too." I said, looking him straight in the eyes.

He smiled and I felt my heart beat faster. His perfectly white teeth stood out against his olive skin. I felt my cheeks heat up as he kissed me. I smiled into his lips and kissed back. I felt electric charges run through my body, starting with my hands, which were hanging around Fang's neck. We finally broke apart, both breathing raggedly. I was full out beaming, and Fang was just sitting there, smiling to himself.

I stood up and dragged Fang out with me. I felt every inch of my body freeze from the sudden temperature change but I ignored it. I stopped dead in front of the pool and looked up at Fang. He smirked and picked me up bridal style, now grinning mischievously. I felt my eyes widen as I tried to get out of his grip but he had already thrown me into the pool at the ten foot deep marker. I hit the water and every nerve in my body froze. I guess going from a hot tub that was over one hundred degrees to a seventy-something degree pool was not a smart idea. I blame Fang.

Fang's toss had enough power to send me to the bottom of the pool, I used the momentum and sprung back through the water, popping out at the top right in front of where Fang was standing. I smiled and grabbed his ankle, pulling him towards me. It took a minute, but he finally fell in. I smirked and watched as he did a front flip over me, and into the pool. Once he resurfaced, his overgrown sodden hair was sticking to his face, covering his eyes completely. He brushed it back and I saw his whole face for, what seemed like, the first time in my life. He wouldn't look half bad with short hair, but he wouldn't be Fang without his long, messy hair.

"You know, if you two want to stay together, you might not want to start a habit of throwing each other into every pool you see." Nudge said from a couple of yards next to me.

"Yeah, really." Angel added in. "Fang. You should cut your hair. Max thinks you should look good."

"Angel!" I half screamed at his as Fang looked at me in disbelief and hilarity. I groaned and tried to think of a way to get back at him. Nothing really good game to me, so I just continued in a baby voice. "Fang loves his hair way too much to cut it all off. Fang-y loves his precious locks, doesn't he? Doesn't he?" He glared at me and disappeared underwater.

I felt something grab my ankle and I kicked hard, trying to knock it loose. It pulled me down to the bottom of the pool and I look at the mysterious pool dweller, not entirely surprised to see Fang. I felt my gills start to work and I saw that Fang's were too. I smiled as he released my ankle. He swam in front of me and grabbed my hand with one of his. His raised his other hand to my cheek and gently stroked it with his thumb. Trust me, you may not think its romantic, but underwater, oh man, it's amazing. I looked up at his expressionless face and laced my fingers in between his. We were just inched apart when I heard a squeal and the 'plop' of bubbles hitting the surface. I glanced up to my left and saw Angel looking down at us with Nudge at her side. I turned away from Fang and felt my face ice over. I just pointed up at the surface and Angel and Nudge immediately grimaced. They turned around and swam over to the edge of the pool. Fang rolled his eyes and pulled me towards the surface.

I burst out of the water and swam over to the edge. Angel and Nudge had already sprinted to the game room to avoid punishment. I saw Nudge peek out from behind Iggy. Angel was behind Mike. I groaned and lifted myself up and out of the water. Looking down, Fang had followed my movements and was now standing behind me, waiting for me to make my next move. I crossed the pool area and went over to where our towels were sitting. I grabbed my light blue one and began drying myself off. Fang just smirked and walked into the game room. Through the glass I could see him challenge Iggy to a game of pool. Ever since they discovered the pool table at my mom's house, they always tried to beat each other. They were still tied in games, thirty-eight to thirty-eight. Fang may have the sight and technique, but Iggy had the precision and timing. They were evenly matched.

I walked into the room and was roped into playing a bunch of different arcade games. Eventually, me, Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, and Mike got bored of the games so be just went to watch Fang and Iggy play. Ten minutes later, Iggy won, causing me to win the bet I had against Fang. If he won, I would have to deal with Nudge and Angel's Bambi eyes, we all know he can't resist them. If he lost, he would have to make me breakfast every morning that we stay in this hotel. He wasn't a big fan of cooking, but his pancakes were almost as good as Iggy's.

After the game, the bragging and threatening started. I had to yell at everyone just to stop them from yelling at each other. On our way back up to the rooms, I walked in the back with Fang, his arm around me. We reached the rooms last and when we got in he immediately pulled me in his embrace, kissing me passionately. I thought I heard noises but I shoved that thought to the back of my mind, trying to only think about the here and now, but the noises kept inching to the front of my mind. I broke away from Fang and looked at him, eyes full of sorrow. I looked over at the door as he walked over to it.

He pulled it open and I heard two grunts, a squeal, and a 'OMG'.

so that was chapter 13. please tell me what you think!


	15. Chapter 14

Yo. I'm back with the next chapter. Man, I'm surprised people are still reading this…

So, uh, onward!

He pulled it open and I heard two grunts, a squeal, and an 'OMG'.

"Oh, come on!" I groaned, trying not to scream. "Are you guys going to be hiding behind some wall every time me and Fang kiss?"

The all huddled up as if they were in the middle of a football game; Iggy occasionally looked up at me or Fang. They soon broke apart and said, in unison, "Yeah." I scowled at them and walked into the hallway, making sure they went into their rooms.

"Hey, Max?" The Gasman asked as he stood in front of the open door leading to his room. "Can Mike hang with us tonight? He is really cool!" I glanced in his room and saw Iggy sitting on the bed with Mike, showing his something. There was no way I would win this one.

"Fine, but if anything blows up, you are in huge trouble." I said in a moderately threatening tone, he nodded and turned around, grinning widely. It really didn't take much to please that kid. I checked to make sure there were no Flock members hanging out in the hallway, and when I saw that Nudge and Angel had already gone into their room, I turned on my heel and went straight to the bed in our room. I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The next morning I woke up to, get this, _peace and quiet_. I _also_ woke up to eggs, bacon, and orange juice. Now I was especially glad I made that bet with Fang. I smiled and took a long swig of the orange juice, looking around. There was no flock, no Erasers, no threats, only Fang and my bacon.

"Angel and Nudge are sleeping. The Gasman, Iggy, and Mike are watching some war movie in their room." Fang said as he walked over to my side. I looked up at him and ripped a piece of bacon in half with my teeth. He just smirked and sat down. "What you wouldn't do for bacon."

"You picked a good breakfast food." I said, smiling. "Good job." I commended.

"So, what exactly are we doing today?" He asked. I hoped he wouldn't because I had no clue.

"I don-"I wasn't able to finish. A scream pierced the cool morning air. I sprung out of bed and followed Fang, who was already sprinting into the hallway. I tried to figure out where the scream was from, but there was so much commotion. Doors swung open as panicking guests peered out into the hallway. Iggy, Gazzy, and Mike joined us out in the hallway. Then I realized where the scream was from. Room 416. Angel and Nudge's room. I looked at Fang and set my jaw. He went up to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. He then proceeded to kick it down. The five of us charged into the room. I stopped dead when I saw Angel lying on the bed, a greed dart sticking out of her neck and Nudge being held by what she feared the most. Sam.

I looked up at Sam, hatred in my eyes. I felt my teeth clench and my fists curls as I charged forwards. I hit Sam with a blow to the temple and he dropped Nudge immediately, holding his head as if it had a dent in it. I saw Iggy grab Nudge and help her up, bringing her to the back of the room. I looked up at Sam and I half smiled.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time." I sneered as I gave him an uppercut to the jaw, forcing his head back. I inched him closer and closer to the window. "You see," I started again, dodging a right hook. "When you hurt me, or my flock," I swung my leg up; giving him side back kick to the chest. "You won't be able to tell the tale." I kept going at him, roundhouse, left, right. I got him close enough to the window for my plan. I was so close, but he finally got me. I felt my jaw shift and my nose start to bleed. Hitting me with another strike, Sam let out a low growl. I felt myself being pummeled. It all happened so fast.

I saw Iggy and Fang come up beside me, Iggy pulling something out of his pocket. I saw a small red flash on the metal box he was holding, and my eyes widened. I watched as Fang went up to Sam and punched him across the face, grabbing him from behind. I snap-kicked him in the neck and he whimpered. As Fang was holding Sam's arms, struggling to keep them behind his back, Iggy attached the box to the inside of Sam's over-sized jacked. With joint force, Iggy and I both kicked him out the window with Fang holding him as the target.

The glass cracked and crashed down onto the ground as Sam fell to the ground. As soon as he hit the dewy earth, the box detonated. It blew up and Sam burst into flames. I looked back up at Fang and Iggy and I raced back to Angel and Nudge.

"What happened?" I asked Nudge, hurriedly. "Are you okay?"

She sniffled and looked at me through tear soaked eyes. "He just kind of appeared in our room and he grabbed me, pulling me to the window. Angel woke up and screamed but he hit her with the dart." I sighed and saw Mike pulling the dart out of Angel, inspecting it and with a relieved face, put it down on the nightstand. He took and Angel into the bathroom and pressed cold water onto her neck and she immediately came back to.

I sighed and put my head in my hands. I felt Fang's grip on my shoulder as he looked down at me with a look saying 'we need to go'. I nodded, stood up, and walked into the hallway. Cheers erupted from the rooms as I walked into mine. I grabbed mine and Fang's packs and brought them into Angel and Nudge's room., doing the same with the Gasman and Iggy's packs.

When I came back into the room, Mike was handing Fang something and looking at him through apologetic eyes. I went up to them. "What's going on?" I asked, not know if this was a good sign or a bad sign.

"Mike's leaving." Fang said simply. No emotion showing on his face.

"Why?" I asked, surprised. "I thought you needed our help."

He looked over at Angel who just stared into space for a minute. She nodded and said, "He says that we have helped him and that he would just slow us down since he didn't have wings." That was true. When I said that we could help him, it never occurred to me that we wouldn't be able to fly him. We couldn't fly him.

Mike just nodded and walked out the door, and down the hallway. I'm guessing he said his goodbyes already. I looked down at the Flock, who were all looking a lot sadder then they have been with Mike here. They really liked him. I sighed and ushered them to the window.

They, one by one, jumped through the broken window. I was the last to go out. I looked down at where we had dropped Sam, only to find some scorch marks, and a small pool of blood. I closed my eyes and reopened them, thinking I was seeing something. Or, wasn't seeing something. I just shook my head and flew on behind the flock.

We flew on for hours, no one saying a word. Once it was about five o'clock, we decided to land for the night. We found a great spot in a secluded forest. Iggy started a fire as Nudge and The Gasman went to find firewood. Fang, Angel, and I dug around everyone's packs for any spare food. Once everyone sat around the fire, we had a wonderful meal consisting of breakfast bars, marshmallows, and various sandwich meats.

"So, Iggy. When'd you make the bomb?" I asked, still mad that they didn't listen to me, but also, for once, glad for his usual disobedience.

"Made it with Gazzy at Dr. M's" he said confidently. "Thought it might come in handy." He said, hi-fiving the Gasman.

"Yeah well, don't think that you aren't in trouble because, you are. You definitely are." I said, smiling. "Just wait for me to come off this sugar high." I noted, pointing to the three marshmallows in my hand. Everyone laughed and continued talking about things that they liked the most about the hotel.

Once the conversation died down, Angel finally spoke up, "Max?" She asked, her gorgeous blue eyes looking up at me solemnly.

"Yeah, sweetie," I said, pulling her in at my side. "What's up?"

"I have something to tell you guys." She said quietly, catching everyone's attention. "Mike told me he had a secret. A big secret."

ooh, insert ominous music here.

review if you like it


	16. Chapter 15

Hey. I'm back and I can't believe people are actually reading this far! It's a miracle!

I'm updating pretty much once a day! Woo! I'm just bored and have nothing to do.

Oh, and SeekDreamsAndFindHope thanks for the _actual_ answer to that math problem. I forgot about order of operations. I'm not one to do math a lot during the summer. Get me a biology book? I'll read it right away. Math? Not so much.

All of you Fang-lovers, the ending that I mentioned in the last chapter is NOT one where he dies. I repeat, FANG DOES _**NOT**_ DIE IN THIS STORY!!! I love Fang just as much as the rest of you.

So, allow me to introduce the next chapter of Only You!

* * *

"I have something to tell you guys." Angel said quietly, catching everyone's attention. "Mike told me he had a secret. A big secret."

"A secret?" I asked, unbelieving, "Did he tell you what that secret was?"

"Yeah. He did." She muttered, looking at the dirt in between her muddy sneakers. "He said that he was never really able to stay with us. He was on a mission from the Academy the whole time, but he really didn't want to hurt us. He was a good guy on the bad side."

"Wow. That's surprising." Iggy said from across the fire. "Seriously, how many good people gone bad do we know? There's Jeb, Anne, Sam, Ari, and now Mike. Great. That's just great."

I ignored him and turned back to Angel, her brilliant blue eyes barely staying open. "What do you mean 'he was on a mission from the Academy'?" Fang asked from behind me.

"They were picking a group of Erasers to come here to kill us. He said that he would do it alone because he had met us before." She started. "He didn't want to kill us though. He wanted to warn us against something. I don't know what though. He was gone from the Academy too long so they sent Sam to come get him." She said regretfully. I hung my head as she yawned.

"Wouldn't that mean he's still a good guy?" Nudge asked drowsily. "I mean, he helped us, kind of."

"Yeah, but he still volunteered to go on a mission to kill us." The Gasman said from beside her. "He probably did want to kill us."

"No. He didn't" Fang said from next to me. "He was just trying to help us, and he did."

"Yeah. I guess." The Gasman said, moving away from the fire. "I'm going to bed."

I was surprised that he actually _wanted_ to go to bed. That was really un-like him. "Right, Gazzy. We all should. I'll take first watch." Everyone just nodded as they move away from the fire for precaution. We may be six kids with wings and abilities ranging from invisibility to being a human magnet, but we are _not_ fireproof. I climbed up onto a low branch on a large oak tree. I was able to see anything around and the flock. _My _flock. I smiled as I saw Angel and the Gasman lay side-by-side, pointing at the stars and constellations in the dark night sky. Nudge was using Iggy's legs as a pillow so they made the shape on an 'L'. She gazed into the fire, talking softly to Iggy.

I leaned back into the hard bark and tried to find a comfortable position. I looked down at the ground and saw that Fang had disappeared. I hastily glanced around, trying to find him. I looked ahead of me and saw Fang sitting on the middle of the branch, legs hanging off, shoulders hunched. I straightened up as I he pulled a small black item out of his pocket and look down at it. I slid over on the branch, not worried about falling.

I inched over to where he was sitting, trying not to make a lot of noise. "Why are you still up?" I asked, trying to keep my voice down. "What's that?" I pointed at the small black thing in his hands.

"Couldn't sleep" He said, simply. "And, it's a portable hard drive. Mike gave it to me right before he left."

"Have you looked at what's on it?" I asked, hoping my eagerness didn't show in my voice. "It must be pretty important."

"I can't bring myself to plug it in." he said, uncovering the small metal adaptor. "Whatever this is, it was important enough for him to risk bringing it to us." I nodded, putting my hand over his. I took the hard drive out of his hands and jumped off the branch, looking back up at him.

"I say we look at it." I said, making the executive decision. "If he really did risk his life to show us, then he must've wanted us to see something on it." He nodded and hopped off the branch, landing nimbly on the ground.

He walked over to his bag and pulled out the laptop. I sat down with him and pushed the adaptor into the metal port on the side of the computer. He flicked the screen up and logged in. I watched as he brought up every file that was on the hard drive. I felt my eyes widen when I saw them all labeled with experiments and strings of numbers. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then something caught my eye.

Fang scrolled over to one file. A file labeled "Maximum Ride". I looked over at him, hands shaking. They had files on me. This was not good. Inside the file, charts were moving across the screen as, what looked like, a body scan, spun in slow circles, noting my hollow bones, wings, air sacs, etc. It showed things like my IQ, my height and weight, and even some things I didn't know about, like possible power probabilities.

I felt Fang's warm hand cover my clammy one as he exited out of the program in silence. I looked up at him, trying to figure things out. "Do you think they have files on you guys?" I asked in barely whisper.

"Probably." He answered, putting the laptop back in his bag. "They probably have files on everyone we have come in contact with. Like Mike said, we're their top priority." I nodded and leaned back, feeling the grass bend under my weight. I looked up at the stars and sighed.

"Now I know why he wanted to come to us so badly." Fang said, as he let himself fall backwards onto the cold ground. "He basically downloaded the whole database at the Academy onto this, but I still don't know how we can help him."

"I do." I said, staring at just one star in the sky. I felt Fang's head turn to look at me in surprise and I smiled. "He knew that if he gave us the information for the Academy that we could take it down. Therefore, he doesn't have to be forced to be there. He just can't revolt against them. They'll kill him."

He nodded, understanding my reasoning, and sat up. He moved back a couple inched and leaned against a tree. I looked up at him, upside and suck out my tongue, as he pulled me over to the tree. I groaned and pressed my back into a crook in the tree.

I looked at Fang, who was gazing at the heavily sleeping flock. He glanced over at me and half-smiled. "Sleep. I'll take the watch." I warily smiled at him, grateful. I really didn't know how I could sleep tonight. There was just so much going on. It was starting to be too much, and for the first time in my life, I really, honestly felt lost.

* * *

So, that is the end of chapter fifteen!

The last sentence was mainly put in because I've wanted to put that sentence in one of my stories somewhere but I couldn't figure out where and now, I found a place. Woo!

So, now i'm off to attempt to find food and then update Live and Let Die.

Tell me how I'm doing. Tell me if you want me to add anything. Tell me if my story sucks. Tell me if it's the best thing since Toaster Strudel. Tell me why guy's sweatshirts are so much more comfy than girl's sweatshirts, because they really, really are.


	17. Chapter 16

thank you for all of the reviews! you guys are great!

It was starting to be too much, and for the first time in my life, I really, honestly felt lost.

Unable to sleep, I tossed and turned on the soft grass beneath me. I couldn't stop thinking about the hard drive Mike had given us. I couldn't believe he had risked that much just to give it to us. I wondered what happened to him. Maybe he got caught by people from the Academy. Maybe they took him back and punished him for staying with us. Maybe he got away, possibly going back to New York. Whatever the situation was, I just hoped he was okay.

I also thought about Sam. He had been lying on the ground, either dead, or seriously hurt. By the looks of it, the condition he was in wasn't one where he could just get up and walk away. He must've had help, or maybe he was more advanced than we thought. He might have some kind of zippy, healing ability, more advanced than ours. Maybe he just can't die. That could be problematic.

I glanced around, seeing the rest of the flock soundly asleep. Fang had moved up to a tree about ten minutes ago. He was perched silently on a low branch. I finally figured that it would be better for me to sleep and so I won't be very lethargic while flying. I stretched my back and closed my eyes slowly, sinking into unconsciousness.

"MAX!" I was awoken by screaming and crying, "No! Max!" I bolted upright to see the Gasman surrounded by the rest of the flock. I scrambled onto my feet and ran over to him. He was tough. Almost nothing scared him, but right now, he was terrified.

"Gazzy!" I said, kneeling in front of him. He looked up at where I was sitting, eyes covered by a silver film. "Guys! What's going on?"

"We have no idea." Fang said, taking a water bottle out of his bag and keeping it ready for the Gasman.

"He woke up and he was screaming your name." Iggy added in, looking towards me. "I don't know why."

"Angel, can you get anything from him?" I asked as she looked at her brother in concentration. Her head started to tremble as she narrowed her eyes.

She turned back to me, hand on her shaking head, "I can't get anything. It's like he isn't there." She looked back at the Gasman; worry clear in her blue eyes.

"It's okay, sweetie" I said, pulling her next to me. I looked back at Gazzy, who had a pained expression on his face and fear in his silver coated eyes. "Lay him down. Now." I commanded Iggy.

As Iggy carefully laid Gazzy down, I saw the blue glint return to his eyes. His breathing slowed and his eyes darted around, looking at each one of us. He finally stopped on me and jumped up, throwing his arms around my neck. I placed mine around his torso and I felt him shudder slightly. Once he calmed down, he backed up from me, not moving his hands from the bottom of my shirt. He gripped it tightly.

"Gazzy, what happened?" I asked quietly, trying not to make him think about it.

"Yeah man, that was weird." Iggy said, "Your eyes went all silver and you looked like the Exorcist." He pulled his eyes open wide, sticking out his tongue, and I saw the Gasman chuckle as Iggy's eyes popped out of his head.

"Wow, Iggy." Nudge said, placing her hands on her hips. "How would that cheer him up? You're just acting weird. Wait, you _are_ weird. So would that mean you're just acting like yourself, but you are acting weird in a different way. So that would make you acting weird. Just somehow a different weird than your normal weird. I wonder how many different kinds of weird there are. There's 'Iggy weird' and then there is 'Iggy's different weird'. There is also 'Max weird'."

"Nudge that's enou- Max weird? How am I weird?" I asked, noticing what she had said. "Never mind. It doesn't matter." I turned back to the Gasman, seeing a small smile on his face. "What happened?"

He looked at me, eyes scared, face nervous. "Well, I was dreaming, but it wasn't like a normal dream. It was like watching a black and white movie in that thing where you know what everyone's doing without concentrating on one person's actions."

"Third person." Fang added in, helping the Gasman's explanation.

"Yeah. That." He said, taking a deep breath. "And everyone was there and we were fighting. Max was fighting like, thirty Erasers at once and it got too much after awhile and we weren't really able to help her. Then Sam came and he-" He trailed off, scrunching his eyes closed, shaking his head.

"And he- what?" I asked, hoping it wasn't what I thought.

"And he- he punched you, and kicked you, and pummeled you until you were just lying on the ground. You were dead." He looked up at me, tears in his eyes. I grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug. No kid she ever see these things.

I felt the Gasman's arms around my shoulders and his hands on my back. I felt him stiffen and he straightened up, moving awkwardly away from me. I looked at him in surprise, seeing his eyes glazed over again. This time the period was shorter. He sat there for about three minutes, staring into space, at something only he could see. The color came back to his eyes, outside to the inside.

"Max! We _have_ to go! Now!" He said, scrambling up and grabbing his pack.

"What?" I asked, startled. "What are you talking about?"

"I just saw us. You guys were all watching me and I just sat there. Then I was looking about three miles into the forest and Erasers were everywhere! They're coming! Let's go!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me up, dragging me over to my pack. He was practically vibrating with anticipation.

"Guys! Listen to him!" Iggy yelled out, "I can hear them and there's a lot!" that really got everyone moving. Iggy's hearing had yet to fail us and I wasn't counting on it failing.

"Let's go guys! Grab your packs and up and away!" I yelled out, watching Angel and Nudge jump into the air. "Don't go too high! They might have guns! Hide in the treetops!" the Gasman, Iggy, and Fang all jumped into the air. I followed them up.

I watched at my flock used evasive maneuvers, zigzagging above the trees in an undulating pattern. I stopped and flew slightly higher, and there, running through the forest, were a pack of fifty or so Erasers, thinking they could catch us off guard. I shook my head and sighed.

I flew on with the rest of the flock and once we were able to fly higher, I called out. "I think the Gasman deserves a round of applause. There were about fifty Erasers down there!" I heard whoops and cheers for Gazzy as we flew above a beach.

"MAX! Can we go down?! I want to go to the beach! That'd be awesome! Woo! The beach! I love it! Please!" Nudge attacked me with questions and exclamatory statements and I just laughed.

"Fang, how far away are we from where we were camping?" I asked, trying to put distance between us and the pack of Erasers.

He looked back and raised an eyebrow. "Probably about twenty miles." He said, turning back to me.

"Fine. We can go down for a little while." I said as Nudge whooped. "But only for like, twenty minutes. We really have to get moving." I figured that they should have some fun before we go running again. This is just my little treat.

We landed five minutes later and everyone except me and Fang went down to the water. I sat on the sand, feeling the sun heat up my legs, watching Iggy and Angel make a sand castle. I looked over and saw the Gasman diving through waves and Nudge screeching every time the cold water hit her. Man, she could be faced with a seven-foot-three hundred-pound Eraser, but she would only scream for the cold water. I looked as at Gazzy's blonde head bobbed above the water. Then it hit me.

I turned to Fang. "Let me see the computer and hard drive." He went into his bag and handed them to me, looking over my shoulder.

I remembered seeing something about new powers in the file for me. Maybe, just maybe, they had that same section for the Gasman. I looked around the files, trying to find something that could possibly be one of the flock. No luck. I sighed and tapped my finger on the track-pad.

I went to into my file and searched around for any names. I found five.

James Griffiths.

Jacob Logori.

Lucas Simter.

Hallie Simter.

Monique DeLushce.

I clicked on 'Lucas Simter', figuring it was the Gasman, considering there was a girl's name with the same last name. Inside, there was a small biography and I scrolled down, trying to find something about powers. Then I did. Underneath all the information it said two things. "Mimicry" and "Future sight".

I looked over at Fang and said, "Looks like the Gasman has a new power, huh?" He nodded and reached around me, scrolling up. There, in the biography, it said everything about him. It showed relatives, likes, dislikes. Everything.

"Looks like we know where we came from." He said, smiling. "We should probably tell everyone else."

"Let's wait until tonight. We can show them everything." I said, handing Fang the computer, who then put it in his bag.

I leaned back onto him, smiling to myself. We finally know where we came from. This is great, but what if they want to leave me and go to their parents? Well, I know Angel and the Gasman don't but, it's a possibility for Nudge and Fang. Iggy might not want to go back to his parents though. They weren't really a good fit. I just we'll just have to wait it out and see.

**That's right Maximum. Go with the flow. **Said a voice in my head, said _the_ Voice in my head.

okay, so, chapter sixteen.

tell me how i did! review please!


	18. Chapter 17

disclaimer- i do not own maximum ride nor do i own ohio, but how cool would that be? owning ohio?

claimer- i own the plot, whatever that may be.

so, onward with the story…

**That's right Maximum. Go with the flow. **Said a voice in my head, said _the_ Voice in my head.

_Wow, voice. I haven't heard from you in awhile. _I thought dryly, just remembering that the last time I heard from the voice was almost a month ago. I think it was trying to set a record.

**That is because you have been succeeding on your own. You don't need my assistance. **It said calmly, I think. With this voice, you would never really tell what it was feeling or even if it was a man or a woman. It was kind of reading a book that is written in third person, sometimes you can't tell who is talking.

_Succeeding on my own? _I thought, furiously, _I really don't count being chased by Erasers, who are supposed to be extinct, and being injured so badly I needed surgery as 'succeeding on my own'. _It was so hard to get mad while talking to the little voice in my head. It just got so irritating sometimes.

Of course, it didn't answer me. I really had no clue what I _really_ was supposed to do. First it was simply 'save the world' and now it's just mixed messages. I let out a groan and put my hands to my temples, rubbing them softly. I really didn't think I could take it anymore.

"You okay?" Fang asked from next to me, reaching over to me. "Is the voice back?"

"Yeah. It is." I said, dumfounded, "But how did you know?"

"You only get that look of disgust and frustration when you're talking to it." He said, nodding to my expression. I looked at him silently. How does he notice all of these things? Half the time I don't even know what expression is on my face.

I looked down the beach at the rest of the flock. The Gasman was, still, jumping and diving through waves, this time with Nudge at his side. I guess she had adjusted to the water temperature. I looked over to their left and saw Angel standing in front of a sand castle as big as her, a large smile spread across her face as she put her sandy hands on her hips. Iggy crawled out of the large doorway and stepped over the small moat. He stood next to Angel and wiped the sand off of his hands. That kid could do amazing things.

I watched as Angel jumped up and hugged Iggy, grinning wildly, thanking him for helping her. He put his hands around her and lifted her off the ground, putting her on his sand-covered back. She giggled as he ran into the ocean, getting them both soaking wet. They went over to the Gasman and Nudge, who splashed Iggy and Angel as soon as they were in range. They all ended up splashing each other, failing in holding back their laughter.

I watched as Angel climbed onto Nudge's shoulder and Gazzy climbed onto Iggy's, smiling the whole time. They tried to push each other off but each time they just scrambled back up. I felt a tug in my heart as I saw Angel fall backwards and the Gasman, who pushed her off of Nudge's shoulders, jump down with his sister so it was an even match. These kids all loved each other.

I felt my eyes water and I immediately wiped the hot tears off of my face. I imagined them leaving me to go live with their parents. I imagined the scenarios going like they did with Iggy's parents. I didn't think I could do it. I would feel crushed, heartbroken, and alone. I held back more tears as I felt Fang's tepid hand on mine. I looked over at him and leaned my head on his hard shoulder.

"You know they'll never leave you, right?" He asked, drawing small circles on my knuckles with his thumb. "They all love each other and they love you."

I nodded, trying not to think about it. "I know," I said in a horse, broken voice, "It's just, if they did, or if something happened, I don't think I could take it." I looked up at him, staring into his abysmal brown eyes.

"Max," He said. I wished he would say it again. "You _could_ be able to do it. You are a strong, caring, beautiful person and you could deal with anything, no matter how bad."

I tried to smile but failed. I looked down at my hands and started playing with Fang's fingers. He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek as he wrapped his arms around me. I looked back down the beach and saw the rest of the flock walking up to us. I wiped the dried tears off of my cheeks and I stood up. Standing next to Fang, I waited for everyone to reach us. I felt a shudder go through me and Fang gently wrapped his arm around me.

"Max!" Nudge called out, "That was so fun! Did you see the sand castle Iggy and Angel made? It's huge! It was so cool! I can't believe they made it that high, I mean-"

"I can," the Gasman said, cutting Nudge off. "Iggy can build anything. With his skills and Angel's ideas, they could probably make a sand castle for the queen!"

"Yeah!" Nudge exclaimed as they stopped in front of us. "The queen and Mr. Queen!" They all laughed as they grabbed their packs from the sand. Fang spread out his broad, ebony wings and did a running take off with Nudge, the Gasman, and Iggy following him.

Angel came over to me, "Max?" She asked, her blue eyes looking innocent, yet curious. I nodded and bent down to her level, "I won't go away from you. I'll miss you too much." My heart swelled as she threw her arms around my neck. I wrapped mine around her and smiled.

"I love you, Angel." I said, close to tears.

I felt her smile as she sweetly said, "I love you too, Max."

I pulled away from Angel and gave her a smile. She just gave me what I needed. A _reason_ to keep going. I watched her run and throw herself into the air. I followed as she rose up to the rest of the flock. Once I reached the flock, I looked over to the direction that our old campsite was in and I sighed.

"Okay guys, we're headed east." I called out, pointing towards a city. "We need to put some space in between where we've been seen." At that, everyone turned and flew across the sky, not even looking back at what they saw. They just looked forwards to everything that they would face.

After hours of flying, we finally hit a small city somewhere in Ohio. Angel, the Gasman, and Nudge looked like they were struggling to stay awake, so I decided we should stop. We landed in a small, dark alley next to a hotel and I looked out at the setting sun. The sky was painted with shades of blues and purples as we walked into the quaint lobby of the hotel. It looked so much more inviting than any other place we have been to.

After getting out keys, we all gathered in my and Fang's room. Angel, Iggy, Nudge, and the Gasman all sat on the beds, looking at me and Fang curiously as we opened the laptop. He set up the hard drive and I looked at the flock.

"Guys, when Mike left us, he gave Fang a portable hard drive that had every file from the academy on it." I said, looking at the computer. "I was looking through it and saw a file on me, which had files on each of you, calling you by your real name."

Angel seemed to be surprised, only by the fact that Mike had given us a hard drive. Nudge looked at me through wide eyes, occasionally glancing at the computer screen. Iggy looked bored. He had already met his parents, and he did _not_ like them. The Gasman curiously peeked over Fang's shoulder, more curious about what they had written about his genetic code, than he was about anything else. He and Angel had met their mother and they were disappointed. They didn't expect anything from her.

"Does it tell us who our parents are?" Nudge asked, eyeing the computer. Fang nodded and pulled up her file, showing it to her. Her eyes scanned the file quickly. I have never seen her read anything so fast. She stopped abruptly. "Fang, my _does_ live in Arizona, just not in Tipisco." She looked up at him, flushed, then at me. "Can-can I meet her?" She asked.

I looked at Fang and I saw understanding in his eyes. I turned back to Nudge and I nodded, sending her bouncing off the walls. "Does any else want to see their files tonight?" I asked, receiving a couple of lethargic shakes of their heads. I nodded as Fang closed down the computer. Angel, the Gasman, and Iggy had all met their parents, or one of them. They probably didn't really want to read any more about themselves, not tonight anyway. "Okay, then go to bed. You all look like you're about to die." I said, as Iggy crossed his sightless eyes and let his tongue hang out over his lower lip. I laughed as they walked out.

I plopped down next to Fang on the bed and rested my head on his chest, allowing his arms to wrap around me. Then I realized something.

"Don't you want to look at your file?" I asked as I turned my head to look at him.

He thought for a moment. "It's tempting but I know that, wherever my family is, it's away from you and the flock. Even if they wanted me back, I wouldn't go. Being away from you guys is the worst thing that anyone can ever put me through." He leaned down and kissed my hair. "I wouldn't be able to survive without you, Max. I love you."

I felt my heart melt as my eyes became hot with tears. I reached up and kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I smiled and said into his lips, "I love you too."

i don't know about you, but i think that is an 'awe' moment.

review with your thoughts.


	19. Chapter 18

yo. here's chapter eighteen.

I felt my heart melt as my eyes became hot with tears. I reached up and kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I smiled and said into his lips, "I love you too."

I felt a tear escape my eye and felt it move slowly down my cheek, the hot trail warming my skin. I looked up at Fang and got lose in his eyes as he leaned against the headboard. I moved up and leaned my head on his toned chest, resting my hand on his stomach. He reached over and took it, playing with my fingers. I watched as he intertwined our fingers and I smiled.

"You know, no matter what happens," He started, wrapping his other arm around my waist. "I'm always here for you."

I felt more tears roll down my cheek as I leaned up to his and kissed him. I couldn't believe him. How did I, the genetically engineered mutant on the run, manage to be with Fang over every other girl on the planet. He just saw Lissa the other day and didn't think anything of it. This was absolutely perfect.

I leaned back, resting my head on the pillow and I closed my eyes, slowly drifting into a slumber. I felt Fang move beside me and let out a sigh. I reopened my eyes and looked over to him. His beautiful brown eyes were closed as his chest rose and fell. A smile was on his usually tight lips and I had to double check this actually was Fang. It was.

I had to smile myself after seeing that amazing vision. I closed my eyes, stretched out my back, and took a deep breath and got lost in the black of unconsciousness.

I woke up to short winged things jumping up and down on the bed. I groaned and wiped my eyes, turning over, thinking they would stop. They didn't they just jumped _on _me. I grimaced and grabbed the leg of the nearest one, pulling them down. I heard a grunt as then landed on top of me and Fang. I closed my eyes and saw the Gasman's legs over mine and his torso on top of Fang, who was _not_ happy. He picked the Gasman up and dropped him on the floor before he turned over and smashed his head into his pillow.

"You two are really hard to wake up." Nudge said. "You sleep so long!"

I nodded and looked at her, an annoyed expression still on my face. "Yeah, and I would still be sleeping if you guys weren't jumping on the bed." She put her hands up in surrender and took a step back. I groaned and sat up, pulling Fang up by his hand. "How did you guys get in here anyway?" I asked, confused.

They all looked at Iggy, who groaned. "Thanks for blowing my cover," He said, narrowing his sightless eyes as Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. How he knew where they were, I do not know. "Picked the lock. Eight point three seconds! I set a record." He announced proudly.

"That record is now erased." I said, scowling. "Go get your stuff we're going to get going. We need to put more distance in between us and the school." I said, pointing at the door.

"Ooh!" Nudge yelled, "Can we go to New York again? That was so fun! We can go to fashion shows and go get our hair and nails done, well maybe not but it's still a possibility. Can we go to a concert? It was so cool when we saw the Taylor Twins in the park when we went last time and now that the Institute is shut down, we don't have to worry about anything! We can go to the zoo! That would be so much fun!"

Believe it or not, she said that all in one breath. Believe it or not, she was right.

There would be huge crowds that we could easily blend in with. Great twist and turns and alleys we could hide in. A million different restaurants and hotels we could stay in. It was probably the safest thing I could think of, for the time being.

"Nudge, that is _exactly _where we are going." I said, receiving a round of cheers. They all marched out of the room, Iggy and the Gasman talking about the zoo including, lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Angel was talking about how she wanted to get Celeste a friend. Maybe this time, I could do that for her. Nudge just kept going on about hair and make-up, like usual. I looked up at Fang, who looked at me tiredly.

"Oh, get up." I said, pushing him off the bed. I started laughing as his head popped up beside the bead, dark hair flying around.

He grinned evilly as he leaped onto the bed, picked me up and swung me over his shoulder. I groaned and tried to get out of his grip, failing miserably. He plopped me down on the other bed in the room and started tickling me on my stomach. My one true weakness which, of course, he knew. I started to laugh hysterically while trying to get him to stop. I managed to kick him but that really didn't do anything to the situation.

Once he stopped, even he was laughing and I just looked up at him, not believing that he was showing _this _much emotion. I guess loving a gorgeous, silent guy had its advantages. He calmed down and bent over me, his face only a couple inches from mine. I felt his warm, breath on my skin and I tried to hold back a shudder. I looked up at him, his angular face illuminated by the light overhead.

He leaned down, holding himself up on his arms, which were placed just each side of my head. I lifted my hands up and around his neck. I gripped the back of his hair and pulled his head down to mine, where I kissed him fiercely. I felt him smile as his lips moved against mine. Then, I heard something.

A knock at the door? Who could that be? I asked myself. I broke away from Fang and sat up, missing his head by an inch. I sighed and went over to the door and pulled it open, not bothering to look through the peep-hole. When I saw the Gasman standing there, I went on hyper drive. He stood there, hands behind his back, looking down. His face showed nothing but nervousness and worry. He looked up from his feet and said only one thing,

"Max, I have something to tell you."

ah! cliffhanger!

so, reviews are welcomed. flames are taken as constructive criticism.


	20. Chapter 19

hello people!

i'm actually writing this chapter in the car on my way to the beach! woo! it's an eight hour drive…

"Max, I have something to tell you."

I looked over at the Gasman, confusion obvious on my face, "What is it?"

He glanced behind me at Fang and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the hallway. This was big if he didn't even want Fang to know. I kneeled down to his level, looking him in the eyes. He looked so scared and so vulnerable. Whatever was doing this to him was important. He leaned over to me and started whispering in my ear.

I back away from him, amazed. "Gazzy," I started calmly. "Are you absolutely sure that you saw that?" He nodded and I took a deep breath. "Sweetie, that might not happen, or you may have seen in wrong but-."

"No!" He yelled in a hushed tone. "I saw it! It happened just like I told you!"

I sighed and continued, "But, in case it is real, let's just keep it in between you and me." I said, giving him a small smile. No one could know about this. Not yet, anyway.

"Okay, Max." He said, looking me in the eyes.

"Did you tell Iggy?" I asked, suddenly worried. "Does he know what you saw?"

"No." He said immediately. "He knew I saw something but I told him it was about me and him eating a really big ice cream sundae." A grin grew across the Gasman's young face as he thought about the ice cream sundae. I smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Maybe I should get you that ice cream." I said, smiling.

I stood up and watched him go back into his room. He paused, right before opening the door. He turned around he looked up at me. "Goodnight, Max." He said, smiling.

"Goodnight Gazzy."

He slid his key into the automatic lock and walked into the room. I saw Iggy hanging upside down off of the bed in the background, blonde hair hanging in straight, wet chucks. At least he took a shower. He was flipping through channels on the TV, listening to each sound intently. Before the door closed, I managed to see the Gasman go up next to him and used his 'special talent'. Iggy just fell down onto his head, suffocating. That kid was cute, but I was glad I wasn't rooming with him.

I turned and went up to my own door. I slipped the key card into the lock and pulled open the door. I walked in and went over to the middle of the room. Without looking at Fang, I did a face plant on top of one of the beds.

I couldn't believe it. There was absolutely no way that the Gasman's vision could be true. Could it? It was amazing. That was the most unheard of thing ever.

**What you heard may be true. **The Voice said. It never failed to bust into my thoughts at the wrong times.

'_May be true'? I can't live with 'May be true'. _ I snapped back at the Voice. _Can't you ever give me a 'definitely' or a 'for sure'? This is something I need to know._

I did _need_ to know if this was going to happen. If it did, maybe I could avoid it. Maybe I could stop it, but there was no way of telling if the stupid Voice didn't tell me. Of course, it didn't answer me.

I flipped myself over and looked up at the ceiling. I picked one spot, right next to the smoke alarm, and stared at it, not blinking, not looking away. I felt the bed move next to me and I turned my gaze over to Fang. He took my hand and smiled, making my heart skip. I turned around and sat up, turning to face him, sitting Indian style.

I looked down at his hands as I traced the light pink outlines of scars on his knuckles. I felt the indents and creases in his tough, callused hand and I felt a small smile form on the corners of my mouth. I tried to forget about what the Gasman said to me, but his words were just etched into my memory. There was no way I'd forget. I looked up at Fang and saw his eyes searching my face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, probably seeing the anxiousness in my eyes. "What did the Gasman say to you?"

"It was nothing. He was just telling me about how Iggy was annoying him." I lied through my teeth. I didn't want one other person to know about our little secret. He looked at me doubtfully, obviously calling my bluff, but nodded. "Fang?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

"Yeah?" He asked while he curled his hand around mine.

"If something bad really did happen," I started, not looking at him. "Will you stay with the flock?" I asked.

"Max, what are you talking about?" He questioned, furrowing his brows. "I'll never leave you guys. Never."

I sighed and nodded. That was what I needed to hear. I leaned back, hoping that the Gasman's vision would not come true, but his new power his yet to fail us. I closed my eyes, trying to sleep but for some reason I couldn't. My thoughts kept traveling back to when we were in the forest, at our camp site. The Gasman's words rung through my head.

"_Well, I was dreaming, but it wasn't like a normal dream. It was like watching a black and white movie in that thing where you know what everyone's doing without concentrating on one person's actions."_

The day we found out about his new power. It was unbelievable. His first vision had slipped my mind. I was just so worried about him I couldn't concentrate on anything else.

"_And everyone was there and we were fighting. Max was fighting like, thirty Erasers at once and it got too much after awhile and we weren't really able to help her. Then Sam came and he-"_

Gazzy couldn't even go on. He had a pained look on his face and he just say there in tears before he actually could.

"_And he- he punched you, and kicked you, and pummeled you until you were just lying on the ground. You were dead."_

If this really was the Gasman's new power, then I have a lot more to worry about. Sam was going to kill me. That could be potentially problematic for my mission to 'save the world'.

Life had to be so complicated. I ask questions. They don't get answered. I do something good. It turns into something bad. It was all because of those stupid white coats. Not only did I have to save the world, keep my flock safe, and worry about my family, but I had to figure out if and when the Gasman's first vision will happen, when his newest vision will happen, look up more stuff on the Academy, and worry about Nudge trying to meet her parents.

I groaned and forced myself asleep, trying not to worry. Trying not to confuse myself. Trying not to think at all.

again, shorter than usual, but that's okay. i really just wanted to bring up stuff with the gasman so, yeah.

please review!


	21. Chapter 20

Yo. I'm back and updating from the car on my way back from a very interesting vacation!

I woke up and I glanced out the window. It was dark. It couldn't be later than three or four in the morning. I looked over at the clock and the red, digital numbers read '2:37'. I was right. I looked over to my left and saw Fang. His eyes were gently closed, his long eyelashes brushing over his skin. I sighed and brushed some thick hair out of my eyes, giving me a clearer view.

I walked over to the window, looking out into the night sky. Only a few bright stars lined the sky. I smiled to myself. I looked up and down the streets, wondering what would draw somebody to such a small town. It was perfect and gave you a feeling of 'home', or at least for a little while. I guess that's why we were here.

I looked out at the street lamps lining the street, the light from each lamp standing out against the dark sky. I saw a silhouette of a man standing in the yellow light. I strained to see the face the man but even with my raptor vision, I couldn't. I shook my head, feeling a migraine accumulate. I looked back at the man and found nothing. Not even a footprint left from a muddy boot. I fell back onto the bed, bouncing slightly on the springs. I closed my eyes, and tried to go to sleep, not bothering to see if I woke Fang up.

I tossed and turned all night, I still unable to fall asleep. I just gave up and sat up, grabbing Fang's laptop and pulling it towards me. I opened the screen and the bright light jumped out at me. I lowered the screens brightness scale and plugged in the hard drive that was on the table next to me. Files and strings of numbers filled the screen. I ignored most of it and went over to my file. I clicked on it and the familiar screen popped up. I didn't even bother reading anything on me. I just scrolled down to the link that said 'Jacob Logori'. I pressed on it with haste and tapped my fingers against the black keys as it slowly loaded. I was curious. Fang was the only one who had no idea where he came from. If he didn't want know, I shouldn't know, but I needed to.

As soon as the screen loaded, my eyes scanned over every word of every paragraph. The scientists must not know much about him because they only stated the things that everyone who has seen him know. They showed his spinning anatomy, just like in my profile. I didn't find anything weird at all. His parents lived in Michigan with his older brother. It turns out his family wasn't that bad. His mother was a school teacher, his father an engineer, and his seventeen-year-old brother was still in school, still mourning the 'death' of his brother.

Only one thing caught my eye. Two words that made the world stop turning. Two words that made my heart stop beating. The only two words that can put fear into my heart. **Will Expire.**

I felt a hot tear roll down my cheek as I thought about that. Life without Fang? Unbearable. In my mind, I replayed the conversation we had a previous night. He said he would never leave me. Maybe he didn't have a choice. I shook my head and inwardly groaned.

When had I started becoming such a softie? I was never like that. I guess things changed. A lot. I turned off the computer and looked over at Fang. I couldn't believe it. Could I tell him? How would he react? I sighed and stayed up thinking.

"Did you get _any_ sleep?" A groggy voice asked from behind me. I turned away from my game of solitaire and looked over to see Fang sitting up on the bed.

"Nope. Not one wink." I said, standing up and stretching my muscles. "You were out like a light. I've honestly never seen you sleep that long."

He smirked and came over to me. He kissed me and looked at the computer screen. I had been up all night playing solitaire and poker. "The red four can go on the black five." He said, pointing.

I groaned and followed the directions, resulting in me finishing the game. He smirked and grabbed a towel, dragging his feet into the bathroom. I sighed and closed my eyes, listening to the sound of the running water.

I heard a knock at the door and voices. "Max! Can you open up! We don't feel like being out here all morning!" The Gasman yelled, pounding on the door.

"Yeah! Really! I don't want to stand out here! It's cold! I'm not normally cold though. Why would I be cold now then? Maybe because I just woke. I don't know. Do you guys know? Max? Are you listening to me? Is anyone listening to me? You guys are looking at me funny. Max! Open up! I'm bored. I'm hungry. Can we go swimming again? I want a chicken pot pie and-" There was an unusual silence for a minute and I stood up to see what could have possibly happened. I opened the door and burst out laughing at the sight.

Iggy had Nudge over his shoulder, holding her upside down while Angel glared at Iggy but had her hand over Nudge's mouth tightly. The Gasman was stretching out duct tape and plastered it right over Nudge's mouth. She was laughing hysterically the whole time. I clutched my stomach, holding back my own laughs. Iggy put Nudge back on the ground and she fell to the floor, muffled laughs coming from behind the tape.

"You guys scare me sometimes." I said, standing back so everyone could rush in. Angel jumped onto the bed, bouncing up and down. Iggy and the Gasman went to the other bed and started jumping on it, Iggy's head grazing the ceiling occasionally. Nudge army crawled into the room and just sat there, sprawled out on the floor.

"What are we going to do today, Max?" the Gasman asked, his voice tired.

"We are going to go to New York. Just like we planned." I got a couple smiles and one very, very familiar sound.

There was a bang as Iggy fell off the bed, holding his hands over his mouth and nose. He started -coughing as Angel held her breath. "Gas- Mask!" Iggy screamed, struggling for words. I wasn't sure what he was talking about until I took a deep breath and the horrid scent went through my nostrils. I fell backwards and groaned as the smell filled the room. I looked over at Nudge who pinched her nose shut and was carefully pulling off the tape so she could breathe.

Once the scent died down, it was silent. I got up and went over to the windows, sticking my head out and taking a deep breath of _fresh_ air. Iggy, Nudge, and Angel followed me. I heard a door open and I turned. Fang stood there, wet hair plastered to his face. "What happened in here?" He asked, clearly meaning the four of us holding out heads out the window. We all looked at the Gasman and he smiled proudly. Fang just nodded.

I groaned and walked across the room. I grabbed the laptop and pulled Fang over to the desk. I looked behind me and watched the rest of the flock play mind games with each other. I pulled up the file on Fang, or Jacob Logori without a word. I scrolled down and glanced at Fang out of the corner of my eye. He was watching me intently. I finally reached the bottom of the page and I highlighted what I wanted him to read. I turned to face him.

His dark eyes scanned those two words and they widened in shock. I felt my eyes water but I held back tears. He wrapped his arms around my shoulder s and kissed my head. I tried to smile but couldn't. He turned to me and smiled, saying "I'm not going anywhere. I promise." I really smiled at that.

I stood up and walked over to the door, pulling it open, "Come on guys, go get your packs." They all filed out, one by one, but Iggy stopped in front of me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking down at me, he lowered his voice and continued. "You sound like you're going to cry."

I sighed and looked into his film-covered eyes. "I'll tell you later, okay?" He looked hesitant but he walked out of the room. I knew I could trust Iggy with things like these, but I wasn't sure I should tell him.

I closed the doors, happy I was smart enough to worry about the whole shower thing the night before. I wanted to get as far away as the school as possible. In the shortest time possible. I grabbed my pack and slung it onto my back. I looked over at Fang, whose hair was soaking his black shirt. He came up to me and smiled, leading me out the door.

We met up with the flock in the hallway and we all left the building, doing a running take off in the alley beside it. We soared high above the trees, taking in the sights. After three or four hours, we finally made it to New York. We touched down and tried to blend into the hustle and bustle of the big apple.

"Can we get peanuts again!?"Nudge asked, "Those were so good the last time we had them!"

I smiled and handed her money. She ran off with Iggy to the vendor and got six bags. I looked around and watched Fang do a quick three-sixty. I took in the sight of every person passing us and I judged whether they could be a possible threat.

"I'm not saying this isn't great or anything, but can we go somewhere more quiet?" Iggy said, his eyes darting around, looking as if he was going to be attacked at any second.

"Yeah." I said, starting to get paranoid. "How about we go get something to eat." I suggested. They all nodded and we started walking down the street, trying to find a restaurant to stay at.

Fang stopped dead and I walked right into him. I looked up from the gum covered pavement and saw yellow caution tape hung around two bodies, lying on the street. The smaller one was a young girl. Dirt covered her face and arms. I looked closely at her back and I felt my eyes widen as I saw feathers stick out of the back of her oversized sweatshirt. I looked up at Fang and he nodded.

"She was the girl." Angel mumbled.

"What?" I asked, confused. "Sweetie, what girl?"

"At the Institute. She was one of the ones we helped." She said, pointing. I nodded and pulled her into me.

I looked down at the second body. This one was bigger. Much bigger. It was a kid, but was half morphed into an Eraser. I looked carefully at the spot where its arm was cut in half. Inside his arm, there were wires instead of veins but muscle tissue built up around the bright bones. They replaced this kid's veins and organs with electronic machines. But why?

please review with your thoughts and critiques!


	22. Chapter 21

yo!

disclaimer- i do not own maximum ride.

They replaced this kid's veins and organs with electronic machines. But why?

I glanced at my flock, hoping they were talking this well, or maybe they didn't even see what had happened. Sadly, they did. Angel looked up at Nudge through wide eyes as she pulled her into a hug. I felt the Gasman's hand slide into mine and I squeezed it gently. I looked down and tried to give him a reassuring smile. I shook my head and walked away slowly, watching as the Gasman followed, his hand still wound with mine.

I heard footsteps behind me and I just walked around the corner, stopping when the accident was out of sight. I sighed when Angel, Nudge, Iggy, and Fang stood in front of me. I couldn't stand to see then this miserable. We had known this girl for not even five minutes, but she still meant something. She was one of us, and was murdered by one of them.

I took a deep breath and looked around at my flock. "Look guys," I started, ready for a change. "What we just saw was not good. At all. We need to be more careful. That could have been one of us. We need to take the Academy and the School and any other place more seriously. We need to find a way to get through this. We need to find a way to fight this."

I looked around at everyone and saw them nodding their heads. I saw tears in Nudge's eyes as she cleared her throat. "What can we do? We don't even know where the Academy is." She said, looking up at me.

"Yes we do." Fang said, taking the hard drive out of his pocket. "Everything we'll need to know is going to be in here."

I nodded and sighed as Iggy spoke up, "Then what are we doing _here_? We need to look through that! Find all the information we can. You guys can do that, right?"

"Yeah, Iggy. We can, but we need to take care of a few things first." I said, sliding the Max-Ride card out of my pocket. "We need to find somewhere to eat and a place to crash." No one said anything. "Come on guys. Let's go get some food."

We walked road after road, finally settling on a simple fast food restaurant. We ordered, receiving weird looks from everyone around us, and sat down with our multiple trays of food. We dug in and I couldn't help but feel paranoid. I kept glancing around, expecting to see Erasers, half morphed, jumping out at us. I felt Fang's callused hand come over mine and I smiled at him, trying to tell him I was okay considering I couldn't find my voice. I glanced down at my half eaten hamburger and lightly pushed it away. I felt too bad to eat.

I looked up at the rest of the flock, who were all eating in silence. I couldn't imagine the impact this had on the younger kids. Angel was only six! She shouldn't see things like these. I saw the Gasman wrap his small arm around Angel and she smiled. He was so sweet. He always tried to be a good brother. Nudge was picking the chicken out of her salad as she leaned her head on Iggy's shoulder. He rubbed her arm and closed his sightless eyes.

Imaged of the crime scene filled my head again and I winced. Pools of blood surrounding the young girl; her blood-stained wing sticking up through her sweatshirt. The arm ripped off of her enemy. She must have put up a fight, or at least a good struggle. I felt my eyes widen as I thought about what I would do if that was one of my flock laying there on the ground, dead. I shook my head, pushing the images away.

I stood up abruptly and piled garage onto a tray, taking it to the trash cans. I looked at the flock, who were mimicking my movements, and sighed. I slid my credit card in my back pocket and opened the glass door, watching five bird kids walk out. I stepped out into the dusk atmosphere and looked at the sky, watching stars appear once in awhile. I started walking down the sidewalk, the flock following. I was a few paces ahead of them but I heard footsteps catching up with me.

"Hey." Iggy said, falling into pace with me. "You okay? You don't seem like yourself."

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed." I said sarcastically. I glanced over at him and saw surprise in his light blue eyes. "Sorry. It's just been a long day."

"I can understand that." He said, nodding his head. After a brief pause, he continued. "What happened back at the hotel? You and Fang looked really freaked."

I sighed. I knew he would bring this up again. I stopped and let the flock walk ahead of me and Iggy and walked slowly behind him. "The other night I was looking through the files on the computer and, out of curiosity, I looked at Fang's file."

"What's so bad about that?" He asked, "I mean, the worst thing that could happen is you learning that he's somehow related to Paris Hilton or something."

I laughed at his 'worst case scenario' and looked at him. "In the file it said that- that he was going to expire."

"Wow." Was all Iggy said. I rocked back and forth while walking and tried to force unpleasant images out of my mind. "You told him?" He asked.

"Yeah. I couldn't just keep this to myself." I said, reasonably. "This is all too much." I muttered, not knowing Iggy could hear me.

"You do know you don't have to keep everything to yourself, right?" He said, wrapping his arm gently around my shoulders and turning me to face him. "You have all of us here to help you."

"I know." I said, thankful that I had someone to vent with. I was just surprised it was Iggy. He had always been the 'sexist pig' of the group, not the sensible one. I guess he had matured. A lot. "I guess we've all been going through some tough times lately."

"Yeah. We have." He said, looking me straight in the eye. It was amazing how he could do that. "Do you even know how bad we all want to live a normal life?"

"Yeah, I know."I said, starting to walk again. "I just feel horrible that I can't give you guys one."

He just snorted and looked in front of him. "Max, you've given us everything possible. There is no way you can give us a real normal life. It's just not in our cards, but you _have_ given us the best life possible. You've kept us out of the School or the Institute or whatever. Max, you're the closest thing to a mom these kids have, and you are doing a great job."

I looked up at him and smiled, happy that I got to talk to the more mature side of Iggy. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in for a one armed hug. I walked in sync with him and followed the flock.

I looked up at Iggy, who was at least six inched taller than me. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to you being so tall." I said, standing on my toes, trying to reach his height.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to you being so short." He said, patting me on the top of the head with perfect accuracy. I laughed and bumped into him, a smile spreading across my face. For once I felt like a normal person, goofing off with their friend.

We finally made it to a hotel, and after we checked in, the whole flock went straight to mine and Fang's room. We huddled around the computer and watched as Fang opened up all of the programs.

"Try looking at the file marked 'Top Secret'." I said, smirking.

"Wow. Could they get any dumber?" Iggy asked, "Saying something is top secret would make someone want to look at it more." The Gasman nodded and gave Iggy a high five. Of course, they would know.

"I think this is what we're looking for." Fang said, motioning to the screen. "Its password protected though. Nudge, you think you can do it?" He handed the computer over to Nudge and she placed her palm on the screen, closing her eyes, concentrating.

After a few seconds of silence she backed away from the laptop. "Got it. It was a little harder because they had a firewall or something protecting it. Wouldn't that be cool? To have a wall of fire? In real life. Not in the computer. It'd be really cool. You know what else is really cool? Muffins! I love them especially blueberry. I never have them though. I want one. Can we get some tomorrow? I love muffins. I think I like them as much as Max loves cookies, and that's saying something. Did you ever find that one perfect cookie? You took that so serious. I wonder of zebras like cookies. They probably don't. I bet lions do though. They look like the cookie eating type on animal. Don't you think?"

She stopped and we all stared at her. I heard Fang mutter, "Cookie eating type, what?" I smiled and turned back to the screen. That girl could really talk. I started browsing through all of the paragraphs and charts. One certain paragraph caught my eye.

**The North Korean branch, currently named The Academy, has now begun testing and exploration with new subjects. These subjects will be assured to be the most dominant and intelligent created. Testing began months before for making a supreme subject, but failed. The European branches, previously named Itex, were unsuccessful in creating a superhuman hybrid strong enough to triumph over one of our other more successful subjects, subject forty-six, otherwise known as Maximum Ride. **

I looked up at my flock and smiled. "It looks like we're going to North Korea." I said, holding my fist out in front of me.

"Cool. I've always wanted to go to Korea." Iggy said, putting his hand on top of mine.

"Really?" Angel asked, placing her small hand on top of Iggy's.

"Psh, no." Iggy snorted as Fang, the Gasman, and Nudge all stacked their hands.

I tapped each one of my flock's fists and couldn't help but smile. We were all together, safe.

please review.


	23. Chapter 22

yo, just thought i'd post before i go to school tomorrow. (although i really don't want to go.)

anyway, chapter twenty-two!

Fang POV (Surprise! Aren't you lucky?)

I put my fist on top of the Gasman's small one and followed Max's movements, tapping each one of our fists. It was amazing how we did this every single night. I guess it became a ritual. I pulled my hand away from the group and held it at my side, waiting for everyone else to do the same.

I looked at Max as she opened the door to let everyone out of the room. I watched Iggy stop in front of Max before he went out the door. I inwardly groaned and turned away. He had been talking to her a lot today, I wanted to know why but I couldn't bring myself to ask. I just let out a slow breath and tried not to hear their small whispers. I went over to the bed and collapsed down face first. I closed my eyes and waited until I heard the door's hinges screech. I didn't hear a sound.

I looked back up at Max and Iggy and I'm pretty sure I did a double take. There stood Iggy, with Max in his arms, holding her tightly. I shook my head and looked back, seeing them break apart. I inwardly sighed and shut my eyes. All I could think about lately was what was written in my file. I had no idea that one of us would actually expire. I had no idea that _I _would be the one that would. I felt the bed move underneath me and I reopened my eyes to look up at a beautiful face blocking my view.

I looked into her chocolate brown eyes and smiled, not able to keep my usual impassive mask. Her eyes looked surprised at first bit then they softened. She leaned down over me and placed her warm hands on my cheeks. I felt an electronic shock run throughout my body as I tried to resist the shiver that ran up and down my spine. This happened every time I saw her. Every time I was near her.

I placed my hand over hers as she smiled and leaned down, resting her lips on mine. I smiled as I sat up, not breaking away from her. I felt her soft lips move against mine and I felt my heart beat faster. I didn't know what was going on with me.

I tore myself away from her and leaned my forehead against hers, looking into her eyes. "I love you, Max." Was all I could say. There was nothing else to it.

"I love you too." She said, her voice sounding like bells ringing. I leaned back onto the bed, resting my head on the pillow behind me. I felt Max curl up next to me, placing her head on my chest. I smiled, feeling as if I were having an out of bad experience.

I started to stroke her long, blonde hair as she started to speak. "I have no idea what to do now." She admitted. I looked down at her, eyes widening a fraction of an inch. Don't get me wrong, Max tells me things that she would _never _tell anyone else, but I am always surprised to hear what she had to say.

"All I know is that we need to destroy the Academy. That is, if it really is in North Korea." She said, looking up at me.

I let out a deep breath. "Max, I am absolutely sure that we'll get rid of the Academy. We read in their own files that they were in North Korea. We'll destroy them and any other threatening company. We will then set out to find a deserted island with a never ending supply of chocolate chip cookies and we will sit on the beach all day thinking about how great life is."

She looked up at me, eyes wide. "Thank you."

"For what?" I asked, not knowing what she was actually thanking me for.

She smiled up at me and sighed, placing her chin on my shoulder. "You always make me feel better. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well, let's hope that you'll never have to find out." I said, kissing her head. She smiled into my shoulder and closed her eyes, her long eyelashes gently brushing against her cheeks; her golden hair cascading down her back. I just loved her so much. I followed her lead and closed my eyes, drifting away into sleep.

I woke up to light shining into the room, burning my eyelids. I felt myself being shaken and I heard movement around the room. I opened my eyes immediately and saw Max standing over me, her face looking deadly serious.

"We have to go. Gazzy had another vision. They're close. Close enough for Angel to hear them." I jumped out of the bed and grabbed my pack. If Angel could hear people coming, they weren't even a mile away. They must be planning an attack if it's taking them this long. I followed Max and the others out the window as they dropped down enough to spread out their wings. I was the last one out. I took one look back at the hotel, looking at the small part of our life I liked, no, loved. Being safe with the flock, and being with Max.

I dropped down the window and as I fell, caught sight of the army of Erasers, only this time, they were accompanied by the devil himself. Jeb. I looped around the hotel and caught up with the flock who were following Max in what they do best. Fighting.

It looked like this was a new batch of Erasers. One's that could fly. It looks like they c=got all of their technology back from when we blew it all up. I stopped in front of a group of the flying monstrosities and gave one a quick uppercut, knocking its head backwards. I gave the one next to me a roundhouse kick to the chest and then a right hook. I fought for as long as I could but they just kept coming. Soon, all six of us were fighting back to back against an army of Erasers.

"We can't take them!" Max yelled over the clanking of metal. "Up on three!" Great that meant one. We'll finally get out of this mess. "One," was all she got to before five pairs of wings rose in the air as fast as their bodies would allow.

I heard a scream from below me and I looked down, seeing an Eraser grab Max by the ankle, pulling her down into the sea of monsters. I couldn't let that happen. Not to Max. Not to her. I dove down and kicked the Eraser holding Max in the wrist, causing him to cower in pain. I felt arms reach over to me, grabbing my shirt and pulling my down. I grabbed the bottom of Max's boot and pushed her up, allowing the Erasers to pull me to the ground.

There were some things that needed to be done. I needed to strike a deal with the devil. For Max. For the flock, but most importantly, for myself.

ooh, ominous music!

review!


	24. Chapter 23

yo everyone! school had started and yet i find writing this story so much more important.

so, onwards!

I felt myself being dragged down to the ground as I tried to struggle. I punched and kicked as much as I could but nothing seemed to work. I was about to give up once I felt the furry claws of the Erasers grasp my wrists and ankles, restricting me from any movement. Suddenly, I felt the weight of the Erasers lift as a force pushed me up higher into the sky. I was pushed right into Iggy, who caught me just in time to let me spread out my wings. I untangled myself from him and looked down, only to see Fang's bruised body plunging down to the ground.

I tried to go down after him but was pulled back by Iggy. I struggled with all my might be he locked his elbows to his sides and pulled me in. I felt myself lose momentum and give up. There was no way I would be able to get to Fang now.

"Iggy!" I screamed in his ear, "What did you do that for! We could have helped him!"

"No." He said, voice barely loud enough for anyone else to hear. "He knows what he's doing. I'm sure he knows."

I looked up at him and saw the solemn expression on his face and I sighed, un-tensing my arms, so he knew I gave up on getting away. I looked down at the ground, hoping to catch a glimpse of Fang but the heavy green trees blocked the view. I twisted and turned my head as many ways as I could think of but wasn't able to see him anywhere.

I saw a small opening in the trees and craned my neck around and saw silhouettes circling around two shadowed figures. A gut feeling told me that Fang was one of those figures. I tried to see what was going on but even with my raptor vision, I couldn't see a thing. I lowered myself in the air, trying to get closer without being spotted but I was finally low enough that I could see them but I wouldn't get seen.

I looked down into the forest and saw Fang standing there in the middle of the circle with another man. I felt my eyes widen as I saw Fang smile at the man and hold out his hand, only to have the other man shake it. I glanced over at the Gasman and I nodded. This was it. This started it all. His vision actually was going to come true. I flew back up to where the rest of the flock was hovering.

"Gaz, this is it." I said feeling as if pins were stabbing me in every joint I had.

"What's it? I don't get it. Is this another secret? You only keep secrets with Fang and Iggy. Why does the Gasman know? What's going on? I have no idea. How long do we have to stay here? I'm hungry? Can go somewhere to eat? Are you guys even listening to me? Hellooo? Max? Iggy? Gazzy? Angel? Can you hear me? Can we get some muffins? I never got my muffin. Can I get one, please? Why are we still here? Where's Fang? Is he down there? Are they having a tea party or something? Can I go join? That'd be fun. I wonder how the Erasers hold a teacup with those giant claws…" Nudge just kept rambling on as the Gasman reached me. He looked at me, thinking hard.

"Okay." He said as he slowly flew over to me. "Are you sure?"

"I think so." I said, wishing it wasn't like this. "I really do think so."

He nodded and I heard him let out a deep sigh. I frowned and wound my way over to him so our wings wouldn't get tangled together. I wrapped my arm around his back and he buried his face in my shirt. Iggy, Angel, and Nudge came over to us and as soon as they did, I knew something was wrong. Angel was wide-eyed, staring at the trees and Nudge was pointing and gaping silently. I let go of the Gasman and turned around to see Fang shooting up from the trees, about seventy Erasers on his trail.

"Go!" He screamed while speeding right past us. I shook my head and beat my wings as fast as I could. I grabbed the Gasman and Angel's hands as I sped forward. I caught up with Iggy, Nudge, and Fang, flying beside them. We all flew as fast as we could but the Erasers were gaining on us.

"We can't run forever!" Fang yelled through the wind. "They'll catch up to us!"

I just thought about what we could do. There was nowhere to stop, nowhere to go, and no civilization to scare the Erasers off. The only thing we could do was give up, but I wasn't going to do that. I wracked my brain until I thought of the perfect thing.

"Everyone come here!" I yelled as fast as I could. I stuck out my arm and continued. "Everyone grab my arm. Now!"

"But, Max, wh-" Nudge started but I couldn't bear to hear it. "Nudge! Hurry up!" I interrupted, seeing the Erasers just ten feet from us. I felt her grab my arm. I heard a scream but I ignored it. The only thing I could do is look and listen. I couldn't do anything about it. Not yet. I concentrated on one thing and one thing only- getting out of there.

I felt myself moving. It was slow at first but then, I felt the wind crash against my face as I felt five hands gasping my whole arm tightly. I struggled against the wind to put my other hand over their fingers and I held onto them the best I could. I felt my eyes watering as the cold air slammed into them. I needed to get out of this.

I turned my feet and thought about stopping but nothing would work. I didn't know how to get out. I looked down, seeing town after town race by. I calmed myself down and took a deep breath, feeling myself slow down. I took another, and another and I finally came to a stop.

We all started to fall but we whipped out our wings one at a time, trying to hit each other in the face. I was the last to open my wings. I looked around at everyone, who were staring at me wide eyed. I gave them a small smile and clapped my hand to my forehead. I felt a headache arousing in the back of my head. I felt tired and just worn out although I didn't know why.

I felt arms around me and I looked up, seeing Fang hovering right in front of me. I smiled even though I didn't want to. "Are you going to be okay? That was some big stuff you did."

"I'll be fine." I replied, trying to keep it short and sweet. "Let's just find some place to land, okay?"

He nodded but the worried expression never left his face. I sighed and continued flying. There were a lot of things that needed to be reevaluated.

please review!


	25. Chapter 24

So… the next chapter.

Onwards!

He nodded but the worried expression never left his face. I sighed and continued flying. There were a lot of things that needed to be reevaluated.

We continued flying and I had so many questions swirling through my head. Topping the list of unanswered questions…

Is the Gasman's vision really going to come true?

What happened with Fang in the forest?

How are we going to get to North Korea?

Are we going to have to worry about more Erasers?

I groaned as we flew and I looked ahead. We were still headed for New York. Maybe we could figure out things there. I flew ahead and watched as we passed over town after town. I tried to clear my mind but wasn't able to.

I felt myself zone out as I listed all of the possibilities for each question. I tried to reason with the voice in my head. I felt myself moving without thinking. I followed the rest of the flock mindlessly.

Hours later, though it felt like days, I was finally taken out of my trance. I looked up and saw Iggy and Fang hovering in front of me. I blinked a couple times and looked over at them.

"Max?" Iggy asked, waving his hand in front of my eyes. "You in there?"

"Uh, yeah. I am. Sorry." I said, shaking my head.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Fang asked.

"I'm fine." I answered, trying not to draw any unnecessary attention from them.

"We're in New York." Iggy said, pointing down at the ground, where I saw bustling streets and factories surrounded by black smoke.

I nodded and shouted out, "Go down!" I followed as the flock landed in a back alley between two large factories. I felt my feet touch the ground and immediately missed the air. We started walking through the streets; the younger kids getting easily distracted by vendors and street performers. We decided to sit in the park and eat the food we got from the vendors. I sat down with my hot dog and did a quick three-sixty.

Once I realized that there were no threats, I turned back to the flock. "Guys, we need to find a way to get to North Korea. We need ideas."

"We can fly." Nudge said, shoving the rest of her churro into her mouth. "Like in a plane. Like when we went to Europe. The plane was weird. You know, like, flying but not on our own. Can I have another churro? That was good."

I smiled and took some money out of my pocket. "Sure. Come on." She grabbed the ten dollar bill out of my hand and raced over to the vendor. I smiled at her and walked behind her, not watching where I was going. I stepped onto the pavement and crashed into someone walking. I stepped back and looked at the person I walked into. I felt my eyes widen as I saw the person standing there in a white lab coat. Her hair was tied back into a tight braid and her make-up was perfectly done. Dr. Brigid Dywer. Great.

…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…: …:…:…:…:…: Random intermission..:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:…:

"Max?" She asked in an astonished voice. "Is that really you?"

"Brigid." I said, really not interested in seeing her. At all.

"Oh, it is so good to see you!" She cried out, pulling me into a hug. My arms were pressed to my sides as she held onto me.

"Max! I thought you were coming with me to go get more churros! Where did yo-" She stopped talking and looked at Brigid, then back at me. "Brigid? What are you doing here? In New York? Why? Did you come for the churros? They make great churros here! They are amazing! How long has it been since we've seen you? Like, a million years? Have you seen everyone else? Iggy grew two more inches! HE is so tall! I think he should play basketball but I think he would be cheating considering he's genetically engineered and everything. Do you think that's cheating? I do. We had to leave Total in Arizona. I miss him. Do you, Max?"

We both started staring at her, speechless. I saw the rest of the flock out of the corner of my eye and noticed that Brigid was looking at them too. Actually, she was looking at Fang. I groaned and rolled my eyes, feeling her eyes move onto me. I saw her blush and look down as Fang came over to us.

"Hey Fang." Brigid said, turning three shades redder. "Hi Iggy, Angel, Gazzy." She added without enthusiasm.

"Uh, Brigid. Hi." Fang said, looking awkward.

The Gasman just stood there with his hands in his pockets, not noticing Brigid. I lightly kicked him in back of the shin and he looked up. He saw Brigid standing there and muttered, "Oh, hi. Howya doin'?"

"I'm doing good." She replied. "So, what are you guys doing in New York." No one said a thing.

"We're just here for some sightseeing." I lied. "We should really be asking you the same thing."

"I got promoted." She said, beaming. "Now I'm working here in the city. It's different but I love it. I'm on my lunch break now."

"Cool." I said, hoping my tone showed interest.

"Yeah it is." She said, her eyes not leaving Fang.

Fang looked down just before she fixed her gaze upon him. As if he has sensed her staring at him, se slowly moved over to me, wrapping his arm around my waist. She looked from me to him in astonishment.

"Oh! I didn't know you two were- oh." She said in feign interest. "Max, you've got a great guy right there."

I nodded and looked up at Fang. "Yes I do." I said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. He smiled and I looked back at Brigid who was looking down at her wristwatch.

"Hey, look, I have to go back to work but we should totally meet up for dinner!"

Before I could answer, Nudge did it for me. "Okay! Sure!"

"Great!" Brigid said, "How about we meet right here at five thirty. I guess I'll see you later." She said, walking down the street, glancing back at me and Fang. I groaned to myself. Great. We get to have dinner with Ms. Wonderful herself.

so… please review if you liked it!


	26. Chapter 25

**Okay, so I didn't really like last chapter, but I think this one will be better.**

**Onwards!**

I tried to find some way to avoid having dinner with Dr. Wonderful but everything I brought up was immediately shot down by the rest of the flock. I tried everything from 'We have to make our way to North Korea so we have to get a head start' to 'Come on, I want a cheese Danish. I think I saw a stand across town. If we leave now, we'll get there in a half hour'. To my dismay, neither of them worked.

"Max! Come on! You are walking so slowly!" Nudge called out from about twenty feet in front of me. I realized I really was dragging behind them. "Come on! We have to meet Brigid in, like, ten minutes and we're um…" She looked up at Iggy and he thought for a second.

"Fifteen." He said, looking down at her.

"We're fifteen minutes away!" She finished. "Why do you have to walk so slow?" She whined as she walked back to where I was. I just shrugged as she continued to walk towards me. I felt her small hand grab my wrist and pull me along the sidewalk to where the rest of the flock stopped and were waiting. I sighed and walked with Nudge so she wouldn't yank my arm out of the socket. That girl was strong.

I started walking with the flock, dreading seeing Brigid again. The first time had been so- so irritating. I wondered if she really did have the job here in New York. There was no way she could have gotten a new job so fast. I thought she loved her job with everyone on the Wendy K. I guess I was wrong. I sighed as I dragged my feet along the pavement, my old, worn-out sneakers scraping against the rough ridges from the cement.

We finally reached the area in Central Park where we were meeting Brigid. To my great disgust, she was sitting on the park bench waiting for us. I was hoping she forgot. I groaned as the younger kids raced over to her as she stood up. They stopped in front of her and quickly bombarded her with questions. She looked up at me and smiled, waving for me to come forward. I obliged, only to avoid an argument. Once I reached where she was, I didn't even want to look at her, let alone talk to her. I glanced up and saw her looking over my shoulder and I quickly looked behind me, seeing Fang walk over and wrap his arms around my waist. I looked back at Brigid and saw her jaw clench but even though she tried her best to hide it, I saw.

Fang stepped beside me and looked at Brigid, waiting for her to say something. After about five minutes of silence, she seemed to drop out of her trance. "Oh, well, come on. I found a perfect restaurant to go eat at. It has great food and even a lot of back exits. Just in case." By the time she was done with what she was saying, she was whispering and glancing around every few seconds. I just shook my head and sighed.

"Yeah, uh, lead the way." I said and she looked taken aback. Apparently she had not expected me to act nice. It actually surprised me too. She regained her composure and turned quickly on her heel, walking briskly past the rest of the flock. I followed at a slower pace, not wanting any of us to be near her. I didn't know if we could trust her. I didn't know if we could trust a lot of people.

I felt Fang's rough hand slide into mine and I looked up at him. He, as per usual, had no emotion shown anywhere on his face. Even though we were going through so much, I could see in his eyes that he was his normal, calm self. I, on the other hand, was a mess. There was nothing calm about me and it seemed that I could turn even the most composed person rabid just by standing next to them. Every time we turned a corner, I did a three-sixty. Every time someone walked past me, I thought of a way to fight them off. Every time I dared to think about the School, Academy, or Institute, I felt a cold shutter flow through my entire body.

"Max?" Fang asked, waving his hand in front of my face. I refocused my vision on his face and tried to smile, failing miserably. "Are you okay? It's like your own little world."

"Yeah. I'm fine." I said picking up my pace after seeing how far away everyone else was. "There's just a lot going on. It's difficult." It was amazing that after fourteen years, I was still able to talk to Fang about everything. There wasn't one thing I couldn't tell him. He was always there for me, through thick and thin.

"I know it's difficult, but we'll get through whatever this new impending evil is." He said, pushing my hair out of my eyes. He lifted his hand up to my cheek and stared into my eyes. "There's a lot of pressure, but you know you have us to help you. We all know how you're feeling."

I looked up at him. "Actually, you have no idea how I'm feeling." I muttered, breaking his gaze. I placed my hand over his, forcefully sliding it off of my face. I turned and strode away, only one thing on my mind. The Gasman's dream. I had run through the possibilities over and over in my mind and none of them seemed real. Except one.

"Max!" My thoughts were interrupted by Brigid yelling over to me. "Come on! We're in here." I sighed and jogged up the stairs. I was never able to actually think in peace. Either the flock, the Voice, a person who was supposedly 'helping us', or some sick (sick as in crazy, not sick as in germ-infested), evil whitecoat trying to kidnap us to continue doing experiments and dissecting our brains always interrupted my thoughts. You may be thinking, 'Oh, why does it matter that sometimes your thoughts were interrupted?' You have no idea how important it is to know what's going on in my life. Those times where I space out are the only times where I can figure things out.

I entered the restaurant and felt my eyes widen as I saw how classy it was. I looked around, seeing the type of people who dined here. They were the fancy kind of rich men and women who could easily tip their waiter five hundred dollars cash. I watched as the women sauntered around in their slinky dresses, high heels, and expensive jewelry. I looked down at my own muddy, ripped jeans and blood-stained t-shirt and sighed. I would never fit in with these kinds of aristocrats. Actually, I would never fit in anywhere.

I followed Brigid into the main dining room, noticing that she fit in here. She walked around in her little black dress and red stilettos, head held high like she owned the place. I didn't understand why she was wasting her time with six ill-mannered, adolescent bird kids rather than a group of schmancy business owners with one-of-a-kind cars and million dollar houses. She would have much better luck with them than with us.

She led me to a round table in the middle of the main dining hall and I sat down in between an empty chair and Iggy, trying to avoid Brigid in every way possible. I watched as she sat down in between Angel and Nudge, sitting straight up and neatly putting the crimson cloth napkin in her lap. I just slouched over and put my head in my hands. I peeked through my fingers and spotted group of twenty or so people walking into the room. I felt my muscles tighten as all of my senses went on hyper alert. I felt movement around me and turned, seeing Fang take the seat beside me. I let out a relaxing breath, slowly, silently.

I watched as the waiter came over to the table; his hair was slicked back and a red tie hung off of his scrawny neck. He went around the table, asking everyone what they wanted to order. After six-year-old Angel ordered two steaks and lasagna, he started to get skeptical.

"Are you sure you kids can eat all of this food?" He asked politely. It seemed that he was more interested in why we were ordering so much rather than being amazed by the actual portions we ordered.

"We're sure." I said, handing him three of the seven menus on the table. "We're really hungry today and we heard this was the best restaurant in the state." I gave him a sweet smile and he nodded, obviously believing what I had said. If only he knew.

After the waiter left, we actually started talking to Brigid. It was time to get some answers out of her, whether she wanted to tell them or not. I knew she was hiding something by the way her eyes kept darting back and forth intensely. I needed to know what was going on with her.

"So, Brigid, what are you doing in New York?" I asked, trying to start a normal conversation. "You said you got a new job, right?" I sighed as her eyes lit up as soon as she heard we were talking about her.

"Yeah." She said, growing more excited by the minute. "I got a new job here in the city. It's actually right up the street from here. It's a really large office. I'm the head research developer there. It's a really good experience but I don't think anything can change the experiences from the Wendy K."

I shuddered at the thought of what had happened. I don't think I had ever been more worried. Angel had taken Total and his puppy love Akila (no pun intended) out into the snow storm. It took us hours, but Fang and I found her but almost froze and successfully got hypothermia. We were found huddled together underneath some ice caps by the deformed giant Gozen and, well, you know rest.

Brigid must have seen me shutter because she looked away and mumbled, "Sorry." I nodded and stared at the white silk tablecloth. I felt like I was about ready to collapse but I couldn't. I had so much to do before I took time to rest. Just thinking about sleep made me mad. I couldn't sleep when there were still branches of the Academy and Itex in the world.

I felt something bang against the table and I watched as ripples spread through the water in the glass beside me. I looked up and saw Brigid stand up, a very grave expression on her face. Her eyes had tears in them as she leaned down to her chair, pulling something out of her purse. I saw a small black object and heard the all-too-familiar metallic click of a gun. I jumped up, the rest of the flock following my example. I used my peripherals to see around me but I immediately wished I hadn't there were men and woman coming at us from ass angles, all holding guns aimed either at our heads or hearts.

"I can't believe you fell for this!" Brigid laughed out, not completely comfortable with the gun in her hand. Oh boy, I hated guns. "Did you really think I was on your side?" I looked at her. Her face looked so intense but her eyes were screaming for help. I felt Fang move around me so that we were back to back and I felt the rest of the flock slowly move around the table. Soon, they were all crowded around me.

I didn't say a word. Now wasn't the time for one of my _infamous_ insults or comebacks. Now was time for one of my _famous_ split-second decisions. They always ended in a good way, or a bad way. If this ended badly, we would be dead. I looked around and saw men and women around the restaurant cowering in fear of the guns. I looked at Brigid, seeing the pistol vibrating in her shaking hand. She wouldn't be able to shoot. She didn't have the guts, but these half-morphed Erasers around us did.

I heard a woman scream as she came out of the bathroom. She had seen the guns at the perfect time. As the woman screeched, many of the Erasers looked over at her. Luckily for us, they weren't too bright. It gave me just enough time to bend down and whisper the plan to everyone. I guess what I always tell the Gasman is right. There is _always_ a plan.

The Erasers turned back towards us and right on cue, Angel burst into tears. The six of us were the only ones who knew they were fake. The Erasers looked around thinking about how well they were scaring us while the people cringing in the corners of the room were thinking about how these poor kids will get out of this mess. My legs started shaking as I fell to the floor. I collapsed and felt movement around me. It took all I could to keep myself still. Hairy paws grasped my wrists as they pulled me up to my feet. Once they stood me up, I fell once more. This time I felt claws slapping my face.

I snapped open my eyes and punched the Eraser in the nose, feeling the bone break under my fist's force. I jumped up onto another Eraser catching him by surprise. They all thought I gave up and passed out. Their mistake. Maximum Ride never gives up. I felt Fang punch the Eraser I was holding as Angel made five of them fight amongst themselves. The Gasman and Iggy threw out as many bombs as they could before we had to leave.

"U and A!" I screamed as I watched Iggy fly straight up through the ceiling. The Gasman and Angel soon followed. I watched as Nudge looked at Brigid hesitantly before following the three through the hole. I heard the soft ticking of Iggy's bomb as I jumped into the air, Erasers shooting at me. I pushed Fang up and followed, shooting into the air.

I raced as fast as I could into the sky, trying to avoid the gunfire exploding from inside the building. Once we were high enough, I looked at everybody and took them into account. "Report!" I said, waiting.

"Just a bloody nose." Iggy said, wiping the drops of blood from face.

"I'm fine." Angel said as the Gasman said "Okay here." I glanced over at Fang and he nodded, his way of telling me he was fine. That only left… Nudge.

I turned around and saw her hovering behind me. She was holding her hand to the left side of her stomach. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she lifted her hand and blood dripped down her wrist. "Max?" she asked as her eyes fluttered closed. She started losing altitude. Fast.

"Iggy!" I yelled, seeing as he was the closest to her, but he was already dive bombing after her. I lowered myself as Iggy elevated himself, Nudge lying unconscious in his arms. I felt my pulse race as I sped over to her. No, No, No! She can't be hurt. Not now! I need her now! I flew up beside Iggy and held her hand, pressing my middle and index fingers to her wrist. "It's faint but she's alive. We have to get her somewhere. Fast."

I turned and saw Angel's face red with tears as she looked at her best friend in Iggy's arms. The Gasman was trying to stay strong for Angel's sake but I knew he really felt differently than he was acting. Fang had his normal impassive mask but deep in his eyes, I saw worry. It was Iggy I was most worried about. He had tears streaming down his face as he flew on with Nudge in his arms. He held her close to him as the wind went through his short hair.

I looked down one last time and saw Brigid standing on the ground looking up at us. Once again, her eyes were screaming for help. I watched as she started staring at Nudge, worry written all over her face. Before, she was lying. _She really is on our side._

**So, how was that? I'm semi-proud of this chapter. **


	27. Chapter 26

**hey! **

**thank you so much for all of the reviews!**

I looked down one last time and saw Brigid standing on the ground looking up at us. Once again, her eyes were screaming for help. I watched as she started staring at Nudge, worry written all over her face. Before, she was lying. _She really is on our side._

I looked down at the blurred city lights as we soared across the sky. I took a deep breath and felt myself gag. There was so much pollution in the air that I could barely breathe. **(There's some environmental help for all 'yall.) **I'll just tack 'Fix the world's issues with industries and producing deadly amounts smog' onto my list of things to do, which was about five hundred pages long. I sighed and looked over at the flock. Everyone was silent. A little too silent for my tastes. My line of sight grazed along each member of the flock until it landed on Iggy, who had Nudge tightly would in his arms. Even though he couldn't see her, he was staring down at her, deep in thought.

"Ig!" I called out, breaking the silence. "How is she?" I asked staring directly at Nudge's paled face. I saw her small chest rise and fall is short, quick breaths and I tried to keep a straight face but all I wanted to do was let out every emotion I had.

"She's okay. For now." He said, not looking up from her. I sighed and shook my head, feeling my tangled hair flop over my eyes. I pushed it violently out of my face and flew faster, trying not to lose control. Right now, I wasn't doing too good of a job.

"Just tell me if anything changes." I said, receiving no answer. I sighed and went back to my own thoughts. There were so many changes; so many new things going on. I was starting to think that it was just becoming too much for me to handle. Topping the list of my to-do list are…

Find Nudge any medical help needed. Fast.

Find a way to get to North Korea.

Decide if the Gasman's vision was really true and figure out what will happen if it really does happen.

Try not to get killed.

I was mainly worried about the number one spot. We needed to help Nudge. It mattered more than anything else in the world. We needed to find some way to get to a hospital, or some kind of doctor expertise. I don't think my mom would cut it this time.

"Max!" Angel yelled out, interrupting my train of though. "I found a hospital! It's right down there! We can finally help!"

I sighed as I felt my stomach do flips. Another hospital. Another hurt flock member. This was going to be troublesome. I took a deep breath and yelled out. "Land! Behind the trees! Don't let anyone see you." Did they need reminding? No they did not. Did I remind them anyway? Yes. Yes I did.

We all landed behind a clump of trees off to the side of the large white building. I rounded the corner and led the flock through the automatic sliding doors lined with the word 'emergency entrance only'. I sighed. If this wasn't an emergency, I didn't know what was. I tapped the back of Iggy's hand, which was still holding Nudge's head against his chest, and he nodded. He was in charge.

I looked over at Fang as we rushed over to the counter where a young girl sat, chewing her gum obnoxiously.

"We need help. Right away." I said urgently, craning my neck from side to side, trying to see if anyone else was in the waiting room. She slowly removed her leather boots from the top of the desk and sat up in the chair.

"Name please?" She said in a bleak tone, while typing something into the computer. I hesitated.

"Uh," I started, thinking of a name. When I couldn't pull one out of my mind I improvised. "Ella. Ella Martinez." Fang glanced over at me, not really surprised to hear that I stole my half sister's identity.

"Okay." The girl said. I tapped my fingers against the counter as I listened to her fake nails clack against the plastic keys. "Who will we be treating today?" She said lethargically, looking up at his through heavily-lined eyes.

"Monique. Monique Johnson." I was definitely _not_ willing to give away any of our real names, now that we finally knew them. She looked down and her eyes scanned a chart. "Is there any way you can go faster?" I uttered out.

She looked up at me through beady eyes and blew a pink bubble the size of my fist. I groaned and motioned for the rest of the flock to come over to us.

"Look, Amanda, is it?" I asked, looking at her bright green name tag, "my friend over here, got shot in the chest." I said, pointing at Nudge's bloodstained t-shirt. "She needs help. Now. We can't wait any longer for you to knit a sweater or wash your face or whatever you're doing back there." She looked up at my surprised and then looked at Nudge, who lay motionless in Iggy's pale arms. She gasped and jumped to her feet.

"Oh my gosh!" She said, eyes going wide. "I am so sorry! Nurse!" She called urgently, finally being helpful. I took a deep breath and inwardly smiled. Now this was going faster.

I watched as the nurse sprinted into the room with a gurney at hand. Iggy laid Nudge on it and she was wheeled down the hall into an operating room. I burst through the doors after them and skidded to a halt in front of the glass window separating me from the unconscious Nudge. I placed my palms and fingertips against the glass as the fest of the flock filed in next to me. I looked down at them and tried to give them a reassuring smile.

"Is Nudge going to be alright?" Angel asked, through tear-filled eyes. I bent down to my knees and looked at her eye to eye. I couldn't say anything. I was too scared to say the wrong thing. I honestly did not know if she was going to be okay.

_Max?_A small voice said in the back of my brain. I tried to hear it better but it was too quiet. I looked at Angel, who had a tear streaking down her dirty cheeks. I wiped it away with my thumb and smiled, pulling her into a hug. She knew this might not end well. We all knew. I picked Angel up, still holding her tight to myself and kissed her cheek. She squeezed Celeste tightly. It looked as if her old stuffed bear was about to pop it's stitches. I sighed and looked in the window to the operation room, only seeing the pale green backs to the doctor's scrubs. I turned and sat on the wooden bench across the hall, letting Angel rest on my lap. I closed my eyes and rested my head on the wall behind me.

I reopened my eyes to see the rest of the flock sitting beside me. I looked down and saw Angel sleep across mine, Fang, and the Gasman's legs. I looked over at Gazzy, who was stroking his baby sister's hair, looking at her thoughtfully. I sighed and rolled my neck, feeling it crack sharply. I glanced down at Iggy, who was sitting on the floor next to me. All I could see of him was his strawberry blonde hair sticking up in all different directions. I sighed and put my hand on his shoulder, squeezing it softly.

He jumped up and looked straight ahead. At first I thought it was because of me, but I was proved wrong when I saw the doctor come out of the operating room, blood spattered all over his gloves.

"How is she?" I asked, moving Angel's legs off of my lap so I could stand up. I looked the doctor in the eyes, trying to read them. I felt Iggy shift nervously from foot to foot on my left. "Is she going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine." He said, eyeing me cautiously. "I would actually like to talk to you about something." I knew what this was about. Her wings. I sighed and tapped Iggy on the back of the hand twice, then proceeded in following the doctor into his office. I walked in and heard the door close behind him.

"How did this happen?" he asked, curiously, nodding his head in the operating room's general direction. "I have my best team working on her right now, but that still won't help my figure out how it came to be." I just shrugged, unwilling to give anything away. I heard the snap of his gloves as he peeled them off his hands and throw them away. "When I extracted the bullet, I studied it. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. Where is it from?" He asked.

"I don't know." I lied. "It's all a little bit blurry right now."

"I know, this can be traumatizing, so I won't question you on some… other matters, but I would like to know where this came from." He said, holding up a small clear bag containing a long, thin bullet. I shrugged again, more concerned with the 'other stuff'.

I decided to make my thoughts heard. "What do you mean 'other stuff'? I asked, curiously. He shook his head, laughing slightly.

"I'm sure you have heard of the double murder down town." He said and I remembered. It was that girl that we helped escape from the Institute and an Eraser. I nodded and gulped, remembering it firsthand. "Well, we did their autopsies here. _I_ did their autopsies and it was simply remarkable."

"Remarkable in what way?" I asked, widening my eyes in feign innocence. He thought for a second and looked at me through his square spectacles.

"The young girl had _wings_." He said, amazed. "Your friend also has wings. It fits together that you may have known each other. The young man who was killed was also… not normal. He had lupine DNA encrusted in his genetic code. It was amazing as I saw the results from the tests."

I nodded and gave him a half smile. "But what does that have to do with us?" I asked, still wondering what his point was.

"Put it this way," He started, as he stood in front of me. "If I hadn't had the opportunity to do the autopsies on those two murder victims, your friend wouldn't be alive at this moment."

I stared up at him, stunned. "Wha-?" I tried to ask, but I just shook my head.

"My knowledge from those murder victims helped me save your friend. If I hadn't known about the differences between regular human beings and you Avian-beings, then there would have been no hope for Monique."

"Oh," I said, trying to get over the initial shock. "Are you, uh," I started before he chuckled, cutting me off.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to tell anyone about you. Only the five of us that worked on both your friend and the two victims know about you, and I know that all of us can keep a secret. No matter how big it was." He said, smiling lightly.

"Thank you." I said quietly. It was amazing, but I was starting to trust this man. Something about his defined facial features and graying hair was almost- comforting. I felt the need to smack myself right then and there, but that would have been a little awkward, don't cha think?

I watched as the doctor walked around his desk and pulled open a drawer. I rocked back and forth on my toes, wondering what he was doing. He pulled a manila folder out of the drawer and put it on his desk. He opened it and flipped through miscellaneous papers. I watched carefully.

"So," He started, taking a ripped piece of paper out of the file. He walked over to me and stood just two feet away. "Ella Martinez, do you happen to know a Maximum Ride?" He asked, placing the folder, torn paper in my hand. I looked up at him in surprise. Only one thing came to my mind…

What was going to happen next.

**review please!**


	28. Chapter 27

**chapter twenty-seven! enjoy.**

-Max's Point Of View-

"So," He started, taking a ripped piece of paper out of the file. He walked over to me and stood just two feet away. "Ella Martinez, do you happen to know a Maximum Ride?" He asked, placing the folded, torn paper in my hand. I looked up at him in surprise. Only one thing came to my mind…

What was going to happen next?

"Uh," I said, trying to think of something to say. "I think I've heard of her." I said, lying through my teeth. "Why?"

"Well that paper is addressed to one Maximum Ride." He said lightly. "I'm assuming one such as yourself may know Ms. Ride." I glanced down at the paper and read the four words scrawled out on the front.

_Maximum Ride_

_Top Secret_

I studied the penmanship and inwardly smiled. The 'R's were backwards and the letters were tossed out around the small side. It was truly the work of a young girl from The Institute. I felt the corners of my lips twitch up as I gently unfolded the edges. I glanced up and saw the doctor studying every move I made. I flattened out the paper and read the small message written in the inside.

_Warehouse._

_Sinpo North Korea._

_Bombs._

I reread the message over and over again, letting my mind overflow. We still had to go halfway around the world. How were we supposed to get there? Why did this have to be so hard?

I sighed and looked back up at the doctor, seeing him gently smile. His features were illuminated by the light shining behind him.

"Thank you." I said sincerely. For once in my life, I was happy I had met a doctor. He had helped us when no one else could.

"Just make sure you do not let anyone see that paper on your way out." He said warningly. I nodded and carefully slid it into the back pocket of my jeans. "I wasn't supposed to give it to you. If you get caught with it, I'll lose my job and you'll be questioned. You'll most likely have to go to an agency that deals with unsolved cases like your own." He said, looking through the slits on the blinds carefully.

"Thank you." I repeated, not really sure what else to say. "I really appreci-"I started but he interrupted.

"You're welcome." He said, walking back over to me. "I understand what you are doing now and thanks to bad password protection on certain websites, I know everything that has happened. I want to help you." He said, pulling an envelope out of his pocket. "Take these. They'll get you to North Korea. Once your friend is okay, you can leave. "He pushed the envelope in my hands and I stuffed it in my pocket, confused about his actions.

He gently pushed me through the door to his office and into the waiting room. I went over to the bench that the flock was sitting on and sat down in between Fang and Iggy. They both gave me quizzical looks. I took one last fleeting look at the doctor as he went into the operating to check on Nudge. I sighed as I pulled the envelope out of my pocket.

"What happened?" Iggy asked, turning to me.

"Max?" Fang asked, worried. "What's that?"

I gently opened the envelope and took six small, rectangular pieces of paper out of fold. "Plane tickets," I said, reading them over. "Six plane tickets nonstop to Sinpo North Korea."

"Sinpo? Why – Did he give those to you?" Iggy asked, nodding his head to where the doctor was standing in Nudge's room. I still don't understand how he did that.

I sighed and flicked through the tickets. "That he did, Iggy. That he did."

"Max?" Angel asked, looking at me through wide eyes. "Is Nudge going to be okay?" She said, standing up next to the Gasman, who watched her carefully.

"Yeah, sweetie." I said, giving her a weak smile. "She'll be fine."

"Max?" Iggy asked, standing up. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" I nodded and stood up next to him. He grabbed my hand and brought me around the corner.

He listened hard, making sure that no one else was in the hallway. When he was sure, he turned to me. "Are you sure this is safe?" he asked, slightly paranoid. "I mean, we don't even know this doctor guy. It could be a trap."

I looked up at Iggy in surprised. "Ig?" I asked, unable to mask my pure confusion. "I would expect this from Fang but, not you. What going on?"

"I'm worried." He said simply, not caring how he sounded.

"Worried?" I asked, more confused than ever.

"Yeah." He said, looking down. "I'm worried about Nudge." I looked up at him, seeing as he is at least five inches taller than me, and I sighed.

"I know." I said as I reached up, hugging him. I felt his hands hesitantly move as he placed them on my back. I reached up on my toes, wondering what was going through his head. "Don't worry. She'll be fine."

I felt him nod as I leaned back down, looking up at him yet again. I grabbed his hand gently and brought it up to my lips, letting him feel me smile. I felt his fingers gently brush my lips as his hand fell to his side. I looked up at him, seeing a small smile play the corners of his lips and I smiled. He was going to be fine. He grabbed my hand and took me around the bend, back to the bench. I looked around, making sure everyone who should be here, was.

Angel and the Gasman were sitting the floor, playing hang-Jeb (Our wonderful version of hangman) on a pad of paper a nurse had given them. Fang sat in front of them, watching the Gasman write down letters as Angel guessed. I looked over at the room where Nudge was and felt my heart tug.

"Nudge." I whispered, jogging into the room. She was sitting on the bed in there, awake. I stopped right next to her bed and I took her hand in mine. "Sweetie, how are you feeling?" I asked.

"I'm fine." She said, looking behind me. Her eyes were fixed on something over my shoulder and I froze, turning slowly to see what it was.

Iggy.

I inwardly smiled as I let go of Nudge's hand. I turned around and watched as Iggy and Fang entered the room. I swiftly walked around Iggy, walking straight into Fang and pushing him backwards out of the room.

"What are you doing?" Fang asked, surprised.

"Let them talk. Let them talk." I said, grinning from ear to ear. He looked down at me, seeing my obvious happy state of mind and gently wrapped his arms around me. I smiled up at him and put my hand in his, feeling as if this situation wasn't as bad as it seemed.

We all planned to get going as soon as Nudge was up for it and miraculously, she was fine by the next day.

"This can't be right." A nurse muttered, unable to believe it. "There isn't even a scratch on her."

"That's normal." I said, coming up behind her. "Just ask the doc." She jumped as I spoke and I smirked, watching her catch her breath.

"Ask me what?" The doctor said, coming into the room. He slipped his hands into blue latex gloves and came over to the side of Nudge's bed.

"There is no way she could have recovered that fast!" the nurse rambled on and I smirked as the doctor gently pulled the side of Nudge's hospital gown off of her shoulder.

"Perfect." He said, feeling the small scar on her shoulder. "Right on schedule. As soon as she wakes up and we check a few things, you can go." He said happily.

"Thank you." I said, gratefully.

"This is crazy," The nurse said, looking at the chart. "How is this possible? It isn't. She can't have healed that fast. This is nuts. There's something I don't know." She backed out of the room and sprinted down the hallway.

"I don't think she's okay." I said, chuckling. I felt so good for unknown reasons.

"I really don't think so." The doctor said, smiling. "I'll talk to her later. I'll make up a disease that gives you 'rapid healing and re-growth'."

"That might be a good idea." I said, twisting my head, wondering where the nurse went so quickly. I sighed and looked back down at Nudge, seeing her chest rise and fall in short breaths. I took her hand and concentrated on her face.

"I see you didn't leave her for long." The doctor said. I looked up at him, confused but then saw him looking at the remaining four members of the flock sprawled out around the rest of the hospital room. Angel and the Gasman had fallen asleep in a large chair across the room. Angel's head was resting on the Gasman's lap while her feet were hanging off of the arm of the chair. Fang was snoring quietly while leaning his back against the side of that same chair. Iggy had fallen asleep in the wooden armchair he had moved next to Nudge's bed. I smiled as I noticed her hand was still tightly intertwined with his.

"We could never leave her." I said, smiling. "She's too, special." I tried to find the right words but there were none to describe her, or any other member of the flock.

"You all are." He said, watching me. "But you need to be more careful."

"I know."I said, masking the shame in my voice.

"With any other kid, I wouldn't think that they would actually listen to me." He said, absentmindedly. "But with you, I'm sure you'll listen." I smiled and looked back down at Nudge. I saw her eyes flicker open as she yawned.

"Ma-Max?" She asked. I stroked her hair and smiled.

"Yeah sweetie?" I asked, preparing to do anything for her. When it was me in the hospital, wounded, I wouldn't do anything, but when it came to the rest of my flock, I'd jump through fire to make sure they were okay. "What is it?"

"Can we leave? This place is creepy."

I smiled and I felt the doctor chuckle next to me. "Yeah, sweetie, we'll leave just as soon as this doctor does a few tests."

"Okay." She said, looking up at the doctor. "Mr. Doctor? What are you going to do? Will it hurt? When can I leave? I'm hungry. I think there is a cafeteria somewhere. I hope I can her food like doughnuts and cake and pie and cookies and pudding. Especially pudding. It's awesome. The best of all foods. It's all jiggily like jello and chocolaty like, uh, chocolate. I don't like tapioca pudding though. It's all gross and yucky. I like jello too! I wonder how they make it. What are you doing? Does that thingy move? What's that thing around your neck?"

"Wow." The doctor said, blown away. "You really have the gift of gab."

"I know. Everyone always tells me to shut up. Iggy calls it the Nudge Channel. It's a pretty funny name, don't cha think?"

"It is a very weird name." he said, pulling a small black cuff out of a drawer. "I'm going to put this on your arm and I'll squeeze this." He said, holding up a small rubber pump." It is going to get tight so I can get your blood pressure."

She nodded and eagerly watched as the doctor slid the cuff up her arm. I smiled and glanced around the room at the flock. Angel and Gazzy were still asleep but Fang was standing up, stretching out his back. He came over to me and placed his hand on my waist, looking down at Nudge.

"How ya feeling?" He asked groggily.

"I feel great!" She said excitedly.

Fang took a deep breath and whispered in my ear, "What'd they do? Up her dose of valium?" He said, holding his arms out wide. I elbowed him in the gut and he groaned.

I looked over to Nudge's right and saw Iggy waking up slowly. He lifted his head off of the back of the chair and looked over at Nudge. I saw his hand loosen as he leaned over to her. She smiled and turned to face him. They started to have a conversation quietly. I sighed and looked up at Fang.

"We're leaving today." I said, making conversation. "We probably should wake up Angel and the Gasman."

He nodded and yawned, still not fully awake. He walked over to the chair they were sitting on and gently shook them awake, talking to them softly.

Ten minutes later, we were outside the emergency room doors, walking towards the woods. I followed as the flock did a running take-off and rose into the air. I jumped up and flew beside them, keeping an eye on Nudge, who was still conversing with Iggy. I, yet again, smiled and thought about them. Oh what wonderful things come from being a genetically enhanced bird-kid.

As we flew, I took in the scenery; the rolling green hills. The small pond surrounded by geese. It all truth, it was gorgeous. I felt free, right until I felt something crash into me at full force.

I, unwillingly, flew across the sky by the force of the impact. I managed to stop myself and when I turned, my day was immediately ruined. Sam was hovering just twenty feet from me.

"New wings, huh?" I asked, furious.

"Yeah. If you ask me, they really bring out my eyes." He smirked, batting his eyelashes. I rolled my eyes and gagged.

"I'll 'bring out your eyes'." I said, snidely. "Just in a little bit of a different way. A way that you will _not_ like." I smirked as he flinched away from my insult. That gave me a second to look around. I saw the flock surrounded by erasers; there was no escape. They were all fighting for their lives.

I noticed a swarm of erasers next to me and I shot up, buying some time, but what I saw next, surprised me more than anything else could.

-Fang's Point of View (This is strictly for the story line purposes)-

I was so eager to get out of that godforsaken hospital that as soon as we exited the building, I sprinted to the trees, already extending my wings through the slits in my windbreaker. I smiled, yes, _smiled_. As I felt the cool winds rush through my hair. I turned around as I reached the treetops and saw the rest of the flock following me.

I sped up into the air, making sure that no one saw us as we rose into the sky. I sighed and waited for Max. She flew right past me, not even giving me a glance. Something was up with her. Hopefully she hasn't figured it out yet.

I looked at Max, who was above me in our formation and I felt my heart race as something slammed into her. I focused more closely and saw that that thing was Sam. I turned and saw a whole army of erasers coming towards us. This new batch had wings.

I was soon surrounded; at least fifteen erasers were throwing punches and kicks at me. I blocked as many as I could, throwing a few of my own. I glanced up and saw everyone holding their own.

I felt like I was fighting for six hours when in reality, it was probably only six minutes. I had taken down half a dozen erasers with more lining up to get to me. I tried to avoid them but they just kept coming. I finally had enough and closed my wings, dropping down twenty feet, trying to get away. I snapped my wings back open and looked up, seeing some erasers run into each other thinking I was still there.

I felt their beady eyes on my and I looked down, straining to get away. What I saw below me was not what I needed to see.

There was Sam. Standing over someone on the ground, punching and kicking them. I squinted my eyes, trying to see who it was and I found out once Sam sprung back into the air, leaving Max on the ground, lifeless. I felt my heart freeze as I flung myself to the ground, hoping, praying that the Gasman's first vision was not going to come true.

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	29. Chapter 28

disclaimer- i do not own maximum ride.

Fang Point Of View

There was Sam. Standing over someone on the ground, punching and kicking them. I squinted my eyes, trying to see who it was and I found out once Sam sprung back into the air, leaving Max on the ground, lifeless. I felt my heart freeze as I flung myself to the ground, hoping, praying that the Gasman's first vision was not going to come true.

Max Point of View

To my surprise, I saw the one person, or thing, that I never thought I would see again. Max 2. I sprung down to where she was lying and watched as Erasers crashed into each other while they tried to catch up to me. It turns out that the Gasman's vision was true, just not in the way we thought.

I landed and reached out towards Max 2, taking her hand in mine. I felt around the left side of her wrist for her pulse, not sure that I would find one in her. I didn't know if she ever had a pulse. For all I knew, she could have been a robot. Luckily for me, I found one. It was quickly coming to a stop. I glanced up at the rest of the flock, seeing them taking out the remaining erasers. I sighed as I felt Max 2's vein stop beating. I felt anger sweep through me for an unknown reason.

Five figures swept down beside me, each one looking around anxiously. "Max?" Nudge asked, kneeling down next to me. "What happened?"

I shook my head, not knowing myself. I took a deep breath and looked over at the Gasman. "Gazzy? Is this what you saw in your vision?" He nodded solemnly and I saw his eyes widen as he looked over Max 2's dead body. "Angel, what did she want? Why was she here?"

"I don't know, Max." Angel squeaked out. "All she said was that she was free. She kept yelling it in her mind. She saw us and wanted to help." I shook my head again, trying to put the pieces together but none of them fit. We needed to leave. We needed to get to the center of everything.

I stood up, looking at my flock with interest. The Gasman was standing at Max 2's feet, his hand held tightly in Fang's. Angel was hugging Nudge, staring straight at me, as if trying to see through me. Iggy was hanging in the back, rolling on his heels, his sightless eyes darting around uselessly. Fang was looking at me with one eyebrow quirked up.

"Come on. We need to go." I said, moving away from the body. "We need to get half way around the world before something worse happens." I walked up to Angel, grabbed her hand, and let her lead me to the edge of the forest. There, I let go of her hand as she jumped into the air. I followed soon after.

Fang Point of View

I watched as Max lead Angel away from us, lifting her into the air, getting ready to fly away. She looked so… amazing. Even in tough or confusing times, she kept her mind set on what we needed to do. She was never distracted like the rest of us. Every single one of us could be easily distracted by something. For Iggy and the Gasman, it was definitely any kind of fire. Nudge, it was cute shoes (although I have no clue why). Angel could be distracted by almost anything cute and covered in hair (hence the whole 'Total' situation). Me, well, I can be distracted by a lot of things. Whether it was watching hawks fly or just getting lost in my own thoughts, I was always in my own world but I liked it there.

Max, on the other hand, always knew what to do. She stayed strong when the rest of us couldn't. It astounded me. She was the main thing that distracted me. She was the person that I had on my mind every minute of every day. She was the reason I did what I needed to do. She was the reason I was going to do what I needed to. She was also the reason why I was standing in the middle of the forest pondering my thoughts while the rest of the flock was flying to an airport to go halfway across the world. Oops.

I took a running start and leapt into the air, letting it whip through my wings. I caught sight of the flock, flying towards the nearest city and I sped towards them, not wanting to lose them. Eventually, I did catch up and I let myself get lost in my thoughts.

"Fang?" I heard a soft voice call out to me. I looked up and saw Iggy lowering himself down to my altitude. "Dude, you okay? You sound like you're getting tired." He said, looking at me worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered, wondering how Iggy could pull so much off without his sight. "I just have a headache. Nothing big." It was true. I actually did feel a headache arousing but that wasn't totally it. I was getting nervous, my hands were sweating and I felt my heart race every time I looked around.

"A headache?" Iggy asked, disbelieving. "Oh, please don't tell me that you are hearing a voice in your head too. We already have one crazy voice-hearing bird kid. We don't need another." I chuckled at the expression plastered onto Iggy's face and I felt like a weight was lifted from atop of me. I smirked as Iggy flew up to fly beside Nudge, something was with those two.

We finally reached the city where we attempted to find the airport. Once we succeeded in finding it, we entered and boarded, each one of us growing more and more nervous. I felt my palms get sweaty as I sat in my seat next to Max. She looked over at me and put her hand in mine. Her, Nudge, and Angel were all a lot calmer than Iggy, the Gasman, and I. It was probably because they had been on a crowded plane once before. To us, it was completely new.

All I could think about what I had to do when the plane landed.

it was short but it'll get longer. i promise.

please review.


	30. Chapter 29

hey everyone!

thanks for all of the reviews.

We walked off of the plane and I could tell that the whole flock was resisting the urge to bow down and kiss the ground. I was right there with them. I felt my knees buckle as I walked off the plane, stretching them out as I walked on.

"Max?" Angel asked from next to me. "Where are we going?"

"The Institute" I said simply; dreading every second. I saw her shudder as she followed me out of the airport. I felt so lost. I didn't know the land here and that bothered me. I wanted to get away from here as soon as possible.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Fang asked, falling into step next to me. "You look like you're going crazy."

"Maybe that's because I am." I noted, striding forwards, leaving him standing, confused behind me.

I felt a hand take mine and I almost jumped, looking around frantically. I glanced down at saw the Gasman walking beside me, a serious look plastered onto his young face. I gave him a small, hopefully reassuring, smile and squeezed his hand slightly. He smiled and walked ahead of me, talking to Nudge. He was the only one that knew what was happening and I hated it but it needed to stay that way.

We walked in and out of the sea of people and I couldn't believe what was happening. It was all so confusing.

_Max, _a voice said, no, _the_ voice said. I jumped as the sound echoed in my mind,.

Geez, Voice, think you could turn down the volume? I thought snidely. What do you want?

_You can't go to the Institute._ It said urgently and I frowned. I could actually hear the struggle in its tone as it tried to convince me.

Why not? Was all I could ask.

_It's dangerous. For all of you. You cannot go! _It urged, getting louder and louder as its words progressed. Was it really telling the truth? Could it be dangerous? Of course it could. Everything in our lives were but this was essential for us. We needed to take down this company. It was a job that needed to be done and it could only be done by us.

Just tell me where to go. I demanded in my head. I could have sworn that I heard it sigh. I shook my head as the Voice told me what directions to take and how to get there. For once, I was glad that I had a voice in the back of my head.

I followed the Voice's directions exactly until we came to a mountainous range with a large castle-looking structure hidden in the valleys. I sighed and trudged on, not saying a word to the flock. They followed without command. I came down to a landing, just far enough away that we wouldn't be spotted with binoculars or any kind of raptor vision; just as a precaution. I stood against a tree while the rest of the flock landed.

"Max! What are we doing! We need to go attack!" Iggy said, cracking his knuckled eagerly. I rolled my eyes at him, realizing that it was a wasted look. Sighing, I straightened up.

"Ig?" I asked slowly, watching his head snap up. "Don't you think a plan would be helpful?" I asked and he nodded, his cheeks turning a deep red.

"It could be…" He muttered, looking at the ground. I rolled my eyes and looked at the rest of the flock.

"Now, we need to get in there, and destroy them at the heart." I said, pacing back and forth. "The Voice said that there are just scientists there, meaning no experiments. That could give us the leverage." I added, rubbing my forehead.

"That way we wouldn't have to worry about helping them escape." Fang said, realizing what I was saying. "We would have more of a chance to destroy the place without being caught."

"Exactly" I said, nodding. "Iggy? Gazzy? I can't believe I'm saying this but, please say you didn't listen to me?"

"But Maxie, whatever do you mean?" Iggy said sarcastically. I glared at him for calling Maxie and I think he felt the tension between me and him because he took a couple steps back.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" The Gasman said, his blue eyes brimming with false innocence. I rolled my eyes and smiled at him.

"Please tell me you two built bombs." I said, eyeing them carefully. Iggy's face turned into a full blown grin as he looked around evilly. The Gasman was smiling from ear to ear as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'll take that as a yes." I muttered, chuckling softly at their expressions.

"So," Iggy started as he and the Gasman both emptied their pockets, jackets, socks, shoes, hats, and gloves of bombs. "What you looking for?" He said, neatly arranging them in piles.

"Yeah, we got flash, paint, high power…" The Gasman rambled. I felt my jaw drop as they pointed to each kind.

"How do you two- Never mind." I said, shaking my head. "We need the biggest and loudest you have." Two evil grins spread across their faces as they pointed to one pile, explaining what it was.

"What!?" Nudge half screamed, "You're letting them actually use bombs!? They got in trouble the last time they used them and that was when they were already in trouble! I thought you hated bombs!"

"I do, Nudge, I do." I reassured her, gently patting her wild curls. "But this place is way too big for us to destroy single handedly. We need some help and bombs seem like the best way to help us." I added.

"And we have two expert bomb-makers right here!" Angel exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her brother, who smiled.

"Exactly." I pointed out, smiling.

"Fine. Fine. Fine." Nudge said, shaking her head at me as she put her hands on her hips. "This is totally stupid though. If they get out of their punishment by making bombs then I think that we, meaning me and Angel should be able to go to the mall and have a total shopping spree AND we can dress you up! That would be so cool and it would only be fair! That is _totally_ fair but I really don't see the point in making bombs when they just have a self destruct in there somewhere. I mean, all of the branches of the School and Itex do. Why should we man-"

"Nudge!" I said, struggling to raise my voice over hers. "Did you just say they have self destruct buttons?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Yeah, you didn't know that?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "It said that in the file on that smart stick that Mike gave Fang. What's it called? Memory drive? Memory stick? Hard drive! Yeah that's it! I was reading about my powers on his laptop when I clicked the link thing next to my 'ability to red computers'. I really don't get why they call it that. I mean, everyone can read computers it's kind of something that happens when you-"

"Nudge!" Fang said, "Get to the point."

"Oh, sorry." She said sheepishly, looking at each of us (we were all staring at her). "Well, in the link thing it said that I would be able to get through any of the School or Institute or Itex databases and when I clicked on the word database it told me everything that there was in the data rooms. There were a ton of computers and buttons and awesome machines. There was also a small self destruct button right under one of the desks in case there was an invasion and they didn't want their information to be in the wrong hands but since they're the bad guys I guess the information would go into the good hands…"

Angel slapped her handover Nudge's mouth, who then furrowed her eyebrows and proceeded to lick Angel's hand until she let go. I laughed silently and turned back to Nudge.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" I asked, kneeling down next to where she sat.

"I thought you already knew." She said simply, shrugging. I was relieved when she didn't start to rant but went over to Iggy's side and had him tell her about the bombs he had.

"I guess we don't get to use the bombs then." The Gasman said, head hung low. I shook my head and smiled.

"No, Gazzy, We can use them." I said, smiling. "We'll use them right now."

"Let me guess," Iggy started, rolling his sightless eyes. "You have a plan?"

I nodded, saying "Yes I do."

please review!


	31. Chapter 30

disclaimer- i do not own maximum ride.

"Let me guess," Iggy started, rolling his sightless eyes. "You have a plan?"

I nodded, saying "Yes I do."

Or, at least I _thought_ I had a plan. I wasn't too sure anymore. The time was getting short and I wasn't completely sure that what we were doing would work but I guess my plans always find some way to work things out; I think.

I jumped up, trying to get as much distance between me and the rest of the flock. It was all part of my brilliant plan. What is it? Like I would actually tell you.

"On three," I yelled down, catching a glimpse of the Gasman and Iggy before I sped into the forest. I rounded around the giant structure of the building with Fang, Angel, and Nudge on my trail. Hopefully Iggy and the Gasman did their job right. "One," I screamed out, hearing clicking. "Two," More clicking emerged from the other side of the building. The only reason I could actually hear it was because of the echoes. "Three!" I screamed as loud as I could, feeling my voice crack at the end.

I folded in my wings and dropped out of the sky and into the forest, watching to make sure that I had three bird-kids next to me. Explosions ripped through the air as I slammed into the forest floor. I looked up at the sky and saw it dyed with various shades of red and orange. I felt a full blown grin spread across my face as I sprung up.

"Come on!" I shouted out to no one in particular. I turned to see Angel and Nudge standing next to me, panicked expressions plastered onto their faces. All I could think was oh-no. "What's wrong?" I asked frantically trying to read their faces.

"Fang's gone!" Nudge cried out. "He was next to me and then he was gone. Angel said that he was thinking about doing something but she didn't know what because his thoughts were too vague and he didn't think anything that was useful but he's gone! I looked all around but he just disappeared!"

"Nudge!" I half screamed surprised about what I was hearing. "I have no idea what you are saying! Angel. Explain."

"I was reading his mind and he kept repeating how he had to do something over and over in his mind." Angel explained. I was so glad that Nudge was the only real talker in the flock. "He just got up and walked through the woods and I think he turned invisible because I couldn't see him."

"Hey! Guys! What are you still doing over here?" Iggy called out, walking towards us as he stepped over large branches.

"Yeah, shouldn't you be on the way to the castle place now?" The Gasman added, curiosity masking his face. "What's going on?" He asked once he felt the tense atmosphere.

"Fang's gone." I stated, brushing off my jeans lightly. That was all I needed to say. He tensed up and came over to me, fear obvious in his blue eyes.

"It's now?" he asked and all I could do was nod. He shook his head, tears coming to his large eyes. "I thought it wasn't going to happen. It took so long-"He couldn't finish. I grabbed him and pulled him along with me, trying to pull him away from the trucks I heard behind us. They weren't supposed to be here yet. This wasn't the plan.

"Max," Iggy whispered, grabbing my free hand and yanking me down a small slope and under a large bush. We were almost completely covered. I sighed silently and looked around, seeing Angel and Nudge already sitting beside me.

"Once they leave, we need to get to the Academy as fast as possible." I muttered towards the four grimy kids sitting next to me. They all nodded twice, showing that they understood. I closed my eyes and leaned back, putting my head against the dirt that was piled up behind me. I was waiting for Iggy. We all had great hearing, but he had the best of the best. He would know when the people were gone.

Seconds felt like days and minutes felt like years as we waited in complete silence. No noise was made except for the occasional scuffle of an eraser's boot overhead. I heard them panting as they tried to find us. Sadly, they knew we were here somewhere but they thankfully didn't know where.

Grunts and groans were emitted from above us as a metal door slammed shut. The engine of a hummer started and I heard the truck drive away. I let out a deep breath that I hadn't known I had been holding.

"Let's go." I said, going to stand up but Iggy threw his arm out in front of me, causing me to fall back to where I had been sitting.

"Not yet." He whispered, barely audible. I looked at his concentrated face with my own confused one. I heard a small crunch and I tensed up. There was one more eraser. I felt my body freeze as I saw something jump down in front of us, missing Angel by inches. She sucked in a small breath and the eraser that jumped down stopped. I could almost imagine his eyes darting back and forth, listening closely for another sound. A sharp crack sounded from miles ahead of us and the eraser jumped forwards, sprinting across the forest.

I sighed and looked at Iggy. He nodded and stood up. He held his hand outstretched for me and I grabbed his hand, pulling myself up. I grabbed Angel and the Gasman, practically dragging them out of the woods. Nudge followed us; swiftly running past us and doing a running take off. I practically threw Angel into the air with just enough time for her to snap her wings out and catch some air. I watched Iggy and the Gasman rise up above the trees and I jumped up, spreading out my wings and their whole fourteen-foot glory.

"Land on the roof," I shouted out, pointing down to the dark gray helicopter pad that was on the roof. Angel and Nudge landed simultaneously with Iggy short after. I smiled as the Gasman had his arms spread out to his sides, swerving back and forth like a military jet as he landed. I folded in my wings once I was ten feet from the roof and dropped down, running to the flock as soon as my feet hit the ground.

"You got it?" I asked Iggy, looking around. It may seem weird, but there were no doors or even skylights on this roof. There was no way of getting inside… unless you had two pyromaniacs and a load of explosives.

"Got it," He said, pulling wire out of his pocket. I rolled my eyes and stood back as he and the Gasman worked on their masterpiece.

"Where did they learn to do all of this?" Nudge asked, watching Iggy program something into a metal box. As you may have noticed, I had no idea what the hell they were doing.

"I have no idea." I answered truthfully. It was amazing how these kids were able to do this kind of thing but I guessed it was normal - for a bird-kid at least.

"They're done!" Angel exclaimed, looking up at Nudge. "They did it in five minutes. You owe me ten bucks!" I laughed and watched Nudge's face heat up.

"I don't even have ten bucks!" She argued. It went like that for another couple of minutes before I was able to actually get a word in.

"We'll figure that out later." I said, grabbing each of their hands and pulling them over to the Gasman and Iggy. I looked at them and they were both grinning enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes and pulled them away from the explosive wire.

"I made a smiley face." The Gasman said, smiling. I followed where he was pointing and saw that the wire was in the shape of a smiley face. I felt my face relax as I smiled, pulling him over to me. Iggy pressed a button on the metal box he was programming and the smiley face explosive wire caved in, falling onto the floor beneath it. I really hoped no one was in that room.

Screams erupted from the room and I groaned. People _were_ there.

I jumped down while the debris was still falling. I smirked as three scientists ran out of the room, holing their hands over their mouths trying not to breathe in any of the dust. I motioned for everyone to come down and they followed me.

Iggy and the Gasman proceeded to quickly sort through all of the equipment, looking for something that could have been of use to us. Nudge went straight to the computers. Since she was the only one that could, she went through all of the files on the computer and tried to find out where we were and where we needed to go. All we needed to do was find that room with the emergency self destruct button. It wasn't that hard but it would be heavily guarded. Angel was on security detail. She was standing by the door, listening for anyone who was coming. She 'convinced' the people who did come near the room to suddenly have the need to do something else, somewhere else (having a six-year-old mind reader _really_ comes in handy sometimes).

"I found it!" Nudge exclaimed, looking around anxiously. We all wanted to leave but there were things we needed to take care of first. "It's one floor below us but it's on the other side of the property. How will we get there?" She had me there.

"Well, Nudge" Iggy started, putting his fingers to his chin, stroking his imaginary beard."There is this thing that people do with their legs and it's called walking," he said sarcastically. I laughed and pushed them out of the room. I had taught them well.

"Nudge your leading us there." I said. Among many other talents of hers, she had an amazing sense of direction. She could find this room in less than ten minutes. It was just what we needed on our side; time.

We walked down countless hallways, avoiding anyone who could potentially hurt us. I was amazed that Nudge seemed to know where we were going as we flung ourselves down the long flights of stairs. Nudge turned left, then right, then left. I was getting confused seeing the winding hallways materialize as we ran through them.

"Almost there!" Nudge called out. I heard Iggy exhale deeply as we took a sharp right turn. It was surprising that we were able to get this far without a problem but-as always- I spoke too soon.

Nudge stopped in front of a large metal door and placed her palm on it. She closed her eyes and we all watched in anticipation. We all knew that she was trying to unlock the door but I only wished she could do it a little faster. I heard a loud click as the door swung open and I tried to jump into it but I was held back by two large, clawed hands.

Screams were heard from next to me where Nudge and Angel were battling erasers. I thrashed around in my captor's strong arms.

"Maxi, Maxi, Maxi," my captor said and I froze. No, not again! "I knew you'd come back to me." He said. I turned around in his arms and saw Sam standing there, holding my wrists with a death grip. I rolled my eyes and kneed him where the sun don't shine. He let go of my hands and howled in pain. I tried to make a mad dash for the room but two more erasers came over and grabbed me. It may not have gotten me anywhere, but Sam totally deserved it.

"Max! It's so good to see you again!" A familiar voice called and I felt my heart drop. Only one man could make me freeze like that and it was the devil himself. Jeb.

"I wish I could say the same." I grunted out, still struggling to get away from the erasers. Jeb shook his head and walked forwards, looking at me in the eye. "What are you doing here anyway? Oh, are you taking a vacation from torturing kids by finding new way of torturing them?" I asked sarcastically. I could never forgive him.

"You still have quite the wit." Jeb said, smiling characteristically. "But we have something else." He motioned to the shadows and I saw a tall, slim figure walk out. It was the one; the only; Fang.

I looked around, seeing Nudge's, and Angel's jaws dropped. Iggy looked confused about everything that was happening but the Gasman and me? We were expecting this. We have been for weeks.

--Flashback—

"Max, I have something to tell you."

I looked over at the Gasman, confusion obvious on my face, "What is it?"

He glanced behind me at Fang and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the hallway. This was big if he didn't even want Fang to know. I kneeled down to his level, looking him in the eyes. He looked so scared and so vulnerable. Whatever was doing this to him was important. He leaned over to me and started whispering in my ear.

"I was dreaming but it wasn't a normal dream. It was one of the visions I had." He whispered, tears filling his eyes. "And in it- it was real looking and I think it will be real."

"Don't worry about that right now, sweetie," I said, rubbing my eyes, attempting not to feel any drowsier. "Just tell me what you saw."

"I saw us. We were behind captured by erasers in front of a giant metal door and then there was Fang. He was standing with Jeb. He was working with Jeb, Max!" he exclaimed.

I back away from him, amazed. "Gazzy," I started calmly. "Are you absolutely sure that you saw that?" He nodded and I took a deep breath. "Sweetie, that might not happen, or you may have seen in wrong but-."

"No!" He yelled in a hushed tone. "I saw it! It happened just like I told you!"

I sighed and continued, "But, in case it is real, let's just keep it in between you and me." I said, giving him a small smile. No one could know about this. Not yet, anyway.

"Okay, Max." He said, looking me in the eyes.

"Did you tell Iggy?" I asked, suddenly worried. "Does he know what you saw?"

"No." He said immediately. "He knew I saw something but I told him it was about me and him eating a really big ice cream sundae." A grin grew across the Gasman's young face as he thought about the ice cream sundae. I smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Maybe I should get you that ice cream." I said, smiling, trying to ignore the thoughts of Fang swirling around in my mind.

--Flashback--

"Max?" The Gasman asked me, his blur eye bright. "This is it. This is what I saw!"I sighed. I really should have known. Why hadn't I?

"Saw what!?" Iggy yelled, still trying to get away from the erasers holding him. "What did you see?"

"Uh," The Gasman started, glancing at me. I nodded and he continued "When we were in the hotel. When I left to go see Max."

"You mean you didn't see ice cream?" Iggy asked, genuinely heartbroken. I snorted in laughter with Angel and Nudge as the Gasman just snickered.

"Why are you laughing?" An eraser asked, glaring at us under the hair falling over his face. I just looked up at his confused face and laughed harder.

"Laughing at the face of death?" Fang asked in a low, deadly voice. I felt my heart freeze as I immediately stopped. I looked up at him, my eyes filled with hatred. "You should just embrace it in silence." He said, stepping forwards to me.

"Fang, relax." Jeb said, placing his long fingers on Fang's shoulder, "We aren't going to kill them. Not yet. We still have some research to do on these kids." Fang glanced back at Jeb and nodded.

How could he do this to us? He betrayed us! Thoughts flowed through my mind and I couldn't get them out. Sweet memories of Fang holding Angel or the Gasman as babies were erased and replaced with this Fang; the one turning on us; the one with hate-filled eyes.

He kept stepping closer and I struggled more and more against the two erasers holding me. I tried to lunge at Fang; the only person I had ever loved; I _still_ loved. He kept stepping forwards and I felt my feet fly off the ground, kicking him square in the face. He stumbled backwards as I twisted and, with great difficulty, flipped one eraser over my back. I jumped at the last, giving it a roundhouse kick to it. I jumped down and ran over to where Nudge was, feeling the room tense.

"Don't just stand there!" Jeb screamed at the erasers. "Do something!" I looked back, seeing the erasers follow me but I managed to free Nudge.

"Go! Find the self destruct! We'll handle these guys!" I watched to make sure Nudge was in the room and I closed the door on her so no one could get in. I put my back to the wall and waited for the erasers to come tear me to shreds. Iggy, Angel, and the Gasman were standing next to me. I looked at them and nodded. They knew what to do: take out as many erasers as possible. Erasers lined up one after another, waiting for their turn to take one of us on in battle.

I launched myself at the eraser directly in front of me just as I heard a loud 'BOOM'. Iggy has blown a hole through the ceiling. Perfect. It was a great escape route for when Nudge came back out.

I dodged the erasers attack while throwing a few punches. I landed a hard snap kick against the side of his head and watched him fall backwards. I didn't waste any time. I went after the next one. Everyone else seemed to be holding their own; even Angel and the Gasman. There were erasers all over, blocking my view of everyone. I stood on my toes, trying to find Iggy or Nudge when I felt a hard foot collide with my ribs. I was thrown back against the wall but quickly stood up into a fighting stance.

I looked up and saw Fang standing over me and I jumped back. I landed a roundhouse to the chest and watched him stagger back. He threw a right hook at me and I dodged skillfully. That's how it went; two well-matched teenagers fighting each other to the death. It was nothing like when I fought Omega in Germany. When I had fought him, I felt nothing. There was nothing to fight for but now, now I had to fight for everything. I felt my heart race as I landed kicks and I felt it drop as he landed punches. All I could see in his eyes was hatred but I wasn't sure it was towards me.

I felt the wind being knocked out of me and I watched as Fang leapt onto me, knocking me to the floor. I stared up at him and gasped for breath. I looked into those deep eyes that I truly loved and felt as if my heart was being torn out of me. The hatred was replaced with fear and pain. He grabbed my neck and squeezed his hand against it, holding me down to the ground. I couldn't breathe for what felt like years. I tried to struggle but Fang had a firm hold on me as he listed his fist up. I closed my eyes, expecting to feel his fist collide with my face but the weight was lifted off of me.

My eyes snapped open and I saw Iggy tackling Fang off of me. I watched as they wrestled, trying to get a one up on the other. It seemed like Iggy was winning. I could almost see the anger radiating off of him. I stood up and was about to throw myself into the fight again when I heard a door open. I craned my neck to see Nudge standing in the doorway. I was nervous that she didn't find anything until I head the loud boom of the loudspeaker.

"Self destruct in sixty seconds."

"Up!" I screamed, pointing at the hole Iggy had made previously. I watched Angel, the Gasman, and Nudge jump up and spread out their wings. I made sure that they were up there before I went over to Fang and Iggy, who were fighting brutally. I teamed up with Iggy and fought with him side-by-side. I managed to give him enough time to get through the ceiling.

I kicked as hard as I could at Fang's chest but I felt him grab my ankle and twist it. I felt my whole body spin onto the floor and him stand over me. He grabbed up and pulled me up, pulling his fist back yet again.

I felt him drop me and I looked up at him as he backed away into the shadows, no expression on his face. I heard the voice over the loudspeaker count backwards from ten and I stood up. I jumped through the hole and joined the rest of the flock. Well, most of the flock.

Iggy threw one last bomb up and it stuck to the ceiling. I watched it turn red and blow chucks of the ceiling away, letting in the light shine through. One by one we flew through and we tried to fly as fast as we could, as far away as we could. I turned back, just in time to see the whole building being engulfed by flames as the explosion went off.

"That was so cool!" The Gasman said, pointing at the building in ruins. I smiled inwardly. It was amazing that _fire_ pleased this _eight_ year old kid.

"Max?" Nudge asked, looking up at me through wide eyes. "Where's Fang?" I looked at her and sighed. That was one question I really didn't know the answer to.

"I don't know, sweetie, I really don't know." She nodded silently and flew on besides Angel.

"Where are we going to go?" Iggy asked me quietly as he flew beside me.

"We're going home." With that, I sped up, feeling tears race down my cheeks as I thought of the events of the day but most importantly; Fang.

so, review please. tell me how I'm doing!


	32. Chapter 31

yo,

this will explain everything from last chapter. it is fang's view of chapter 30.

onwards!

I heard Max call out directions every so often and I glanced over at her each time, making sure she was still okay. Her plan was, like usual, brilliant. I really didn't know how she came up with it but I guess that was just the genius of a fourteen year old who has five other kids depending on you.

I followed her exactly as she flew through the air and I couldn't help but smiling. This was probably the last time I would see her happy with me. This might even be the last time I see her. I listened as she called out her newer directions. The ones that she thought only told that Gasman and Iggy what to do but in reality, it told me how much time I had left.

In normal circumstances, I would kiss Max; tell her how much I loved her and leave in a very dramatic and heart wrenching scene but who said that we were normal? In my case I had to sneak off when she wasn't looking in hopes that eventually she'll understand that what I am doing was all for her and maybe- just maybe she can forgive me for making her go through everything that she will have to.

"On three!" She yelled out and I couldn't help but direct my gaze to her. She looked so gorgeous as she flew, even though a worried and anxious expression never left her face. "One!" She shouted out, turning to look at the Gasman and Iggy, her golden brown hair cascading down her shoulders in small waves. "Two!" She glances down at the forest floor as she began to descend, Nudge, Angel, and I following. "Three!" She folded in her wings as explosions ripped through the air. I let myself drop just enough that she would see me falling beside her when she looked down, but when she would look again, I would be gone.

Feet before I hit the ground, I snapped out my wings soundlessly and carefully floated back into the trees, not making one noise. All I could hear was a heavy breathing. It was insane that I was doing this but it was the only way to keep them safe; to keep her safe.

I flew in between trees, trying to imagine what the rest of the flock was doing right now. Were they looking for me? Did they notice I left? Do they know why? Could they possibly understand why I was doing what I was? That was unlikely but I could only hope.

Finally reaching the Academy, I landed and walked around the back on foot. I knew the best way to get in. It gave me enough time to get things ready. I knew what Max was planning to do so I had to keep my thoughts clear. Some of the erasers here might have the same power that Angel has and we all know how that can get in the way of things.

I glanced back and forth as I walked up to a large bronze gate. I ran my fingers though my hair and waited for it to open. They knew I was coming. They were the ones who gave me the choice. Me or everyone else. It made more sense for me to go instead of everyone else, don't you think?

The giant gates opened and I slowly walked through them, absorbed in my own thoughts. I went into the main building, meeting up with five erasers and the devil himself. Jeb. I blinked twice, making sure I saw things correctly.

"I see you did your part on our deal." He said, adjusting his small glasses onto the bridge of his nose. I nodded and glared at him underneath my hair.

"If you hurt them I swear I will-"I started, only to be interrupted by an eraser punching me in the gut. I wheezed, trying to catch my breath and I looked up at my attacker. He was eyeing me with an evil glint in his eye.

"I will say true to my side of the deal if you stay true to yours." Jeb said, pushing the eraser away from me. I didn't care how much they did to me. I needed the rest of the flock to be safe. I wouldn't be able to live without knowing that they were safe.

"Good." I said, giving Jeb a death glare. I saw him wince and I smirked. I still had power over some people.

"You are going to do exactly what I say, how I say it." Jeb said, handing me and earpiece. I took it and gently fit it into my ear, covering it by my elongated hair. "If you do so, Max and the rest will not be harmed." I gave him a skeptical look but reluctantly nodded. I had no choice but to believe Jeb would keep his word, although it was highly unlikely.

--Flashback—

I heard a scream from below me and I looked down, seeing an Eraser grab Max by the ankle, pulling her down into the sea of monsters. I couldn't let that happen. Not to Max. Not to her. I dove down and kicked the Eraser holding Max in the wrist, causing him to cower in pain. I felt arms reach over to me, grabbing my shirt and pulling my down. I grabbed the bottom of Max's boot and pushed her up, allowing the Erasers to pull me to the ground.

Hairy hands swiped at me as I was pushed down to the trees. I fell through the tree tops and landed on my back in the middle of a clearing. I closed my eyes, groaning in pain from the impact. The feeling of a steel-tipped shoe colliding with my stomach ran through me as I curled up, feeling pain race through me. Angry laughter sounded from around me and I looked up, seeing at least twenty erasers surrounding me.

Trying to get up, I dug my fingers into the dirt. I pushed myself up and leapt onto the nearest eraser, knocking it out with one blow to the head. I went to one after another, trying to get to the end of the pack but it seemed endless. I started to feel tired as I attacked the twelfth eraser; more just stood in line.

"Enough," A familiar voice sounded from the other side of the clearing. The owner of the voice walked slowly as the erasers ceased their punches. They stepped aside for the man like the parting of the Red Sea and I glared at the man standing there. "I want to talk to Fang." Jeb said, stepping in front of me. He held out his hand for me to take but I ignored it, climbing off of the ground my own way.

"What do you want?" I growled, watching every movement that went on around me. The erasers formed a circle around us as if they were watching a fight. We all know who would win if that did actually happen.

"I want to offer you a deal," Jeb started and I snorted in laughter.

"Why don't you have your people call my people." I said, rolling my eyes and sticking on an impassive mask. Jeb clicked his tongue and looked up at me ('up' because I was, oh, only four inches taller than him).

"I am very serious, Fang." He said, giving me a lighthearted look. "I want to offer you a deal that you won't want to refuse." I stayed silent, daring him to go on. I knew I would never take a deal he offered me. "I know that you and the flock are searching after the Academy. I am standing here telling you that in the process of that, Max and the others might get hurt. Fang, I am offering you a chance to save them. Only, it will have its costs for you."

I thought about that. I really didn't doubt that he would hurt us. It was just a feeling in the pit of my stomach that gave me enough strength to shake his outstretched hand. I needed to keep Max safe and this was the only way to do it. I saw a mysterious glint in Jeb's eye and he nodded, waving his hand to call off the erasers. I backed away slowly, realizing what I had just done.

I had made a deal with the devil

--Flashback—

I nodded and walked with him and the erasers out of the room. I could barely stay quiet, which was not normal for me. I wanted to scream and shout to the world but as long as I stayed quiet, Max and the others would be safe. I knew that this company would never actually shut down so we would always be in danger. It was all that I could do. I promised Max I would protect her (as much as she didn't need protection) and I intended to keep my promise.

"There here." An eraser said as he fell into step with Jeb. I inwardly sighed and followed them silently, memorizing each hallway. I was dreading what happened next. I had to 'betray' Max and pretend that I hadn't been on their size all along.

We walked down hallway after hallway until we reached an area where erasers were crowded around five smaller figures. I watched in the shadows, clenching and unclenching my fists in anger as Sam, who was holding Max, talked to her

"Maxi, Maxi, Maxi" He said in a sickly voice. I imagined myself beating the crap out of him over and over again in my mind. "I knew you'd come back to me." I watched as she spun in his arms, getting a little too close for comfort. She jerked up and kneed him in the groin. I stifled a chuckle as he bent down, howling in pain. She jumped forwards, only to be held back by two more erasers. I knew it would take a lot more than that to stop her.

"Max! It's so good to see you again!" Jeb said, walking into the hallway. I smirked at the disgusted expression that Max had.

"I wish I could say the same." She said, glaring at Jeb through viscous eyes. I could always count on her to be the sarcastic one in the group. "What are you doing here anyway? Oh, are you taking a vacation from torturing kids by finding new way of torturing them?"

"You still have quite the wit."Jeb replied, ignoring her last comment. "But we have something else." He added, motioning for me to come out of the shadows. I stepped out and saw Nudge's, Angel's, and Iggy's jaw drop (I still have no idea how Iggy knew it was me).

"Max?" The Gasman asked, looking over at Max. I looked between them, trying my best to keep an impassive expression on my face. "This is it. This is what I saw!" I immediately froze. He saw this? Was it a vision? Max knew!?

"Saw what!?" Iggy asked for me. I saw his eyes dart around, more confused by the second. "What did you see?"

"Uh," The Gasman started, glancing over at Max for direction. She gave him a small nod and he continued, "When we were in the hotel. When I left to go see Max." She knew all this time? Why did she put up with me? Why didn't she just kick me out when she had the chance? Why did she put herself through all of this if she knew what would happen?

"You mean you didn't see ice cream?" Iggy asked, his eyes wide with surprise. I knew he was being serious. Iggy was always serious when it came to ice cream. Max burst out laughing like only she could. Angel, the Gasman, and Nudge joined her, laughing hysterically. It took all I had in me not to laugh with them.

"Why are you laughing?" One of the erasers next to me asked.

"Laughing at the face of death?" I asked, trying to sound as distant as possible. I couldn't show any feeling. My heart froze at the thought of Max dying. No. I wasn't going to let that happen. That was what I was preventing. "You should just embrace it in silence."

"Fang, relax." Jeb said, putting his hand on my shoulder. I wanted so badly to rip it off of me and throw him across the room but that would blow everything. "We aren't going to kill them. Not yet. We still have some research to do on these kids." He lied, trying to install fear. I knew he wouldn't kill them. As much as she denied it, he loved Max.

I watched as she struggled against the eraser that was holding her back. She tried to lunge at me but was pulled back. I stepped forwards, fighting the urge to help her and escape. Her feet flew up and kicked me square in the nose. I fell back by the impact and felt a hot liquid fall down my lips. I watched from the shadows as she flipped one eraser over her back, making it look easy, and give the last one holding her a roundhouse kick. It happened so fast that no one did anything about it. She ran over to Nudge, handling the erasers holding her.

"Don't just stand there!" Jeb screamed, waving his hands forward. "Do something! He added, sending the erasers to where Max was.

She tore the eraser off of Nudge and shoved her through the door to the main computer room, closing it in the process. "Go! Find the self destruct! We'll handle these guys!" said yelled, sliding back on the door.

She was starting to be surrounded by erasers and I couldn't have that. I stood up and sprinted towards her, kicking her out of the group of erasers and over to the side. She gasped as I threw a soft punch at her gut, not quite knocking the wind out of her. She gave me a roundhouse kick to the chest, knocking me backwards. I retaliated with a poorly aimed right hook. I was trying me best not to hurt her.

I kicked her in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her and leapt onto her. I placed my hand around her neck, careful not to press on any major arteries. My hold on her gave her the illusion I was choking her, when in reality, I was barely doing anything. I pulled my arm back, just to put up a show. She closed her eyes tightly, readying herself for the punch that I really wasn't going to throw. I felt a hard force knock me off of her and I flew against the wall.

I heard the loud crack of the loudspeaker as Iggy punched me across the face.

"Self destruct in sixty seconds."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Max shoving Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel through the hole Iggy had made before. Once she was done, she came over to us. She pulled Iggy off of me and shoved him towards the opposite direction, where he jumped up, disappearing into the hope in the ceiling.

She landed a hard kick at my chest and but I managed to grab her foot before it hit me. I twisted her leg so she landed on the ground and one again; I stood over her, raising my fist.

She looked into my eyes as I let go of her, backing away slowly. Giving me a quizzical look, she jumped up and whipping out her wings. She shot up through the ceiling and I heard the loudspeaker count down from ten. I looked around and saw that almost no one was in the hallway anymore.

I sprinted down the stairs and jumped out the window, whipping out my wings in the process. Just as I raced down to the forest floor, the building exploded, sending dust and debris everywhere. I ran through the trees, wondering, hoping, I would be able to get away. I thought I was free until I came face to face with three erasers twice my size and Jeb. There was no way I could leave now, but I promised myself I would get away.

I would see Max again. I would explain everything that happened in hoped that she would forgive me, but most importantly, I would tell her I loved her.

okay, so hopefully that cleared some things up for you. fang did NOT actually betray max. he was being the sweet, caring bird-kid we all know and love by protecting the rest of the flock.

i kind of just got the idea while writing the tenth or eleventh chapter so i kept it.

the next chapter will be the last one. so, i'm going to try and end on a positive note.


	33. Chapter 32 Epilogue

yo!

it's finally here—the last chapter to only you! it's more like an epilogue but anyway… it's probably going to be a little short only because the only thing i have to do is wrap up the story but, this is it!

onwards!

"We're going home." With that, I sped up, feeling tears race down my cheeks as I thought of the events of the day but most importantly; Fang.

Everything we did the rest of that day was a blur to me. I couldn't remember doing anything other than thinking. I was in my own little world for so long. I wouldn't talk; I wouldn't eat; I barely showed any emotions. It's not like I was depressed, because I assure you, I wasn't; I was just shaken up. I had expected life to throw twists and turns as we went through it but I never expected them to be this bad. Things just kept going downhill.

Even on the plane ride home, I couldn't do anything. I was as rigid as ever but for some reason I was calmer than I had ever been. Since I couldn't breathe, I felt as if I didn't have to. Since I couldn't think straight; it felt as if there was no need. Everything was accommodating to what I needed which, let me tell you, is a first for me.

I sat in the stiff seat in the corner of the plane, staring straight out the window as we ascended over the cities and towns surrounding. Every so often I got a glare from a man or a woman eying my dirt caked face and torn clothing but I dismissed it. They could think what they wanted but I was glad that we made it out alive. It was a miracle yet a curse. Things didn't have to be this way for us, but they were and, believe it or not, I was happy that we went through everything we did. It gave us the benefit of knowing what we were here for and what we were meant to do. Not to mention that I met five other amazing kids in the process. I honestly didn't know what I would do without them.

I felt the seat next to me as someone sat down, I turned expecting to see the Gasman but instead, I was Iggy. I glanced over at where Iggy was supposed to be sitting and saw Angel and Gazzy laughing at something Nudge was saying.

"You okay?" Iggy asked me, making me turn my attention back to him. I nodded and he just looked at me with a blank expression. "You do know that I have no idea whether or not you're nodding." He said, a small smile playing on his lips. I felt myself smile grimly as he put his hand over mine. "You know everything is going to be okay, right?"

I couldn't find words to answer him. I felt as if I talked then I would start crying and we all know how bad that would be. "Somehow," I started, glancing down at my hand in his. "Somehow I believe you."

"Good, because I'm right." He said obnoxiously, putting a smug mask on. I laughed and elbowed him in the ribs. He sighed and looked at me seriously. "Guess what I heard from our own little mind reader."

"What?" I asked, relaxing my shoulders. He looked at me deeply and continued.

"She said that she was able to read Fang's mind right before we left; that he left his block down." He said, taking a deep breath. I sat up straight and stared at him. "She said that he was thinking of how much he loved you and how he hated doing this to you. Also that he didn't want you to think badly of him but he assumed that that came with what he was doing."

I looked at him incredulously. "So what does that mean?" I asked finally.

"Well, I'm guessing that that means that he didn't actually turn on us." he stated, leaning back in his chair. "He just wanted to keep us safe; to keep _you_ safe." I nodded and turned to look out the window again. It was hard for me to believe, but I knew Fang hadn't turned on us. It was just a gut feeling I had while we were fighting. If he actually did turn on us, then he probably wouldn't have let me go while we were fighting.

I guess I either zoned out or fell asleep for the rest of the trip considering I woke up to Iggy shaking me, telling me we had to get off the plane. I stood up and stretched out my back, feeling it crack multiple times. I winced and grabbed my pack, following Iggy down the ramp to where Nudge was holding onto Angel and the Gasman. We all walked out of the airport and into the woods next to it where we would be hidden perfectly.

One at a time we took a running start and snapped out our wings. I felt my feathers realign as I stretched them out in order for a better take off. I flew up next to the flock as we started to go back to my mom's house. It was the best place to rest and recuperate. I also figured it would be good to tell her about the past days… events.

I was bracing myself for the moments to come. Telling mom and Ella about Fang; the tears that would most likely be shed; everything I had never dreamt of was happening and, to be blunt, it sucked big time.

But I just flew on, embracing what I still had with me. I had the rest of the flock, Ella, and my mom to rely on. I was happy to see Nudge and Iggy helping me with everything that needed to be done involving the flock but nothing could compare to what Fang had done.

He had made the ultimate sacrifice to make sure we were safe and for that, we owed him our lives and so much more.

like I said, short but it ended the story, didn't it?

reviews would be appreciated.


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